Gregor the Overlander and Death's Dance
by Nothing's Resurrection
Summary: The start of an unfinished story. Gregor was finally caught by Death. But instead of being trapped in the land of dead forever, Death offers him a deal and returns him to the Underland. How will Gregor cope with being back in the Underland? What happens when his friends get dragged down as well? Can Gregor truly find happiness this time? R&R! Chapters get longer starting from Ch.5!
1. Death's Serenade

**Chapter 1**  
Death's Serenade

* * *

He was already dead. Or, that's what he thought anyway. It really depended on the meaning. If "death" was a state where one didn't live, then by that definition, Gregor was definitely already dead. How could he call the life he lives now living? Wake up. Go to school. Come back home. Repeat. His family was happy and content with their new life, and Gregor often pretended to enjoy it with them. His mom often tousled his hair as he walked in the door and asked him how his day was.

"Good, thanks, Mom." Gregor would then smile half-heartedly and climb into his room while his mother went into the kitchen with Grandma to make dinner.

His dad managed to find work as a professor again after he miraculously recovered from his trauma. That was probably the last day Gregor really smiled. Lizzy and Boots were ecstatic, going so far as to buying a cake and poppers for the occasion. Lizzy was now in Middle School, and while his mother was fearful of Lizzy going through puberty, she remained calm and collected. Boots was… well Boots. She went to kindergarten for several hours and made tons of new friends. She no longer had any trouble speaking, and Gregor sort of missed the little baby he carried through his adventures.

He tried to convince himself that he liked his new life, like the rest of his family. But when his body shuddered when he walked by Central Park or when Boots started singing about bats and big animals, he felt a pang in his heart and he knew that he couldn't fool himself. He just… wanted to go back.

That place was his drug, and he couldn't stand the rehabilitation. Just one more time, he told himself. If I could go there one more time, I would be happy forever. That is, if he could remember where "there" was. But he didn't care what the place was or where it was. He just knew it made him happy and he wanted it.

He never would have imagined that death was the only ticket.

It was a humiliating death. He fought through hordes of men and giant monsters, but fate decided to deride him with the death of gravity. Thank God for Isaac Newton for giving it a name to curse. Curse gravity for granting him death! Because the day he died was the day everything changed…

It was a supposed to be just a normal day. Of course, now, he would often look back and sometimes wonder what would have happened if it was just a normal day…

* * *

"GREGOR!" a sharp voice sliced through Gregor's daydream. Shocked, Gregor jolted his head upwards and frantically looked around, searching for the source of the horrible sound. His eyes eventually rested on the teacher, Mrs. Evans, who was staring at him with a disgusted look on her face. Her hands were on her hips, and Gregor groaned inwardly. She was waiting.

"Yes, Mrs. Evans…?" he murmured. He never really liked Mrs. Evans. She was far too strict for her own good and it seemed like there was always something stuck up her-

"Do I have to remind you that this is not nap-time!" she shrieked. Gregor grimaced at her voice. "This is detention. I would like you to keep that in mind the next time you decide to wander off to your own little world." She scoffed.

"Yes, I understand, Mrs. Evans." Gregor muttered.

"No," Mrs. Evans shook her head. "I do not believe you do. I'll give you a punishment so that you _will_ remember it." She smirked.

Most of the other kids in the room snickered while the rest merely gave sympathetic glances in his direction. Everyone knew what was coming. Mrs. Evans turned back to her desk and pulled out a stack of papers from a cabinet. There must've been hundreds of papers in the stack. With a scary gleam in her eye, she strode towards Gregor and plopped the papers on his table with a huge SMACK.

"I need these papers to be stapled. Take every three pages and staple them together, then put them in a separate pile here," she smacked another empty desk. "Understand?" she smirked.

Gregor nodded reluctantly and she trotted back to her desk, seemingly triumphant. Gregor pulled a face at Mrs. Evans and sighed. He had done this so many times it seemed natural to grab the stapler, take three pieces of paper, staple it, place it on the other side of the desk, and repeat. In fact, he was quite proficient at it. Proficient enough to spare him from Mrs. Evans' complaints, anyway.

When he was about halfway done with the stack, he heard the bell go off. Detention was over. All the kids packed up and got ready to leave.

"All of you are dismissed!" Mrs. Evan's voice called out. "As for you, Mr. Gregor, you are staying here until you finish that stack." She scowled.

Gregor's ears roared. How unfair could she be? He cursed under his breath as his hands continued to move like a machine. After a few more minutes of the incessant torture, Gregor heard the door swing open and saw a girl and a boy walk in. The boy was tall and lean with short brown hair and had a smiling face. He was pretty relaxed and didn't seem to care for Mrs. Evan's threatening stare. The short black-haired girl, on the other hand, looked quite disturbed and strategically placed herself behind the boy to avoid Mrs. Evan's glare of doom and gloom.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Evans stood up at her desk. "Who are you two?"

"Uh, sorry." The boy scratched the back of his head. "We're here for our friend, Gregor. Detention is over, right?"

"Not for him it's not," she sniffed. "Since he was falling asleep in detention, he needs to staple all of these papers. Now out!" she pointed out the door.

"Geez." The boy grimaced. "Cut him some slack, will 'ya?" he glowered at the teacher. "I bet he's had a hard day, dealing with teachers like you."

"Matt…" the girl nudged him urgently, warning him to not go too far.

"Is that so?" Mrs. Evans narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you and your little friend go and help him then!" she seemed to snarl as she pointed in Gregor's direction.

Matt shrugged. "Fine." He smirked and went over to Gregor, much to Mrs. Evans' irritation. The girl quickly followed him and quickly murmured an apology to Mrs. Evans before they both sat down next to Gregor.

"Geez, man." Gregor snickered. "You're gonna get suspended or something if you do that."

"Eh, so what?" Matt shrugged. "Better than letting my best friend get treated like a dog. Right Rachel?" he prodded the girl, who jumped in surprise.

"Ah!" she squealed. "Matt!" she fumed. "Gregor's right. You might want to calm down on the attitude there."

"Ah! Betrayal!" Matt gasped in over exaggeration as he clutched his heart and pretended to die. Gregor chuckled as Rachel continued to berate Matt about proper etiquette.

"Alright guys, let's get this over with." He gestured towards the pile. "You didn't think you were just gonna sit here and watch me finish this by myself, did you?" he gave them each a look.

"Right." Matt groaned. "Forgot about that."

"Sorry!" Rachel blushed as she quickly grabbed a stack of papers.

And with that, silence took over them. Despite the pain of it, the arduous task actually went a lot faster than they expected. They got to whisper about their day, complain about their homework, and plan for their summer vacation. Before they knew it, all of the papers were stapled nicely. Even Mrs. Evans appeared to be somewhat pleased. As soon as they placed the papers in her hand, they bolted out the door.

* * *

"MAN I could NOT wait to be out of there!" Matt bellowed as he rushed outside into the falling evening. Rachel giggled, following closely behind as Gregor stretched in satisfaction.

"It wasn't too bad," he yawned. "Especially since you guys were helping me." He threw his arms over their shoulders and smiled. Rachel and Matt groaned comically and pretended to buckle under his weight.

Gregor stared up at the sky. Being with his friends was probably one of the only times he actually felt like he didn't need… that place. Gregor frowned. That place? Where was that place…? Gregor stopped in the middle of his tracks as Matt and Rachel went on, laughing at some joke. He furrowed his brow as he groped around in his memory. The place he wanted to go to. The place he kept dreaming about…

It was almost like- wait.

Gregor stopped. He thought that he must have been imagining it, but he could swear he saw a figure waving at him from far away. He squinted at it, and just as it was coming into focus, it ran off. What was that? Normally, he would have dismissed it as nothing, but for some reason, he found himself unable to think nothing of it. He wasn't sure, but he thought for a moment there, the figure looked familiar… It couldn't be. Gregor shook his head. But what if it was?

"Yo, you hear me, Greg?" Matt tugged on his arm. "The dinner plans are still on today, right?" Gregor snapped out of his daze. Oh right. Dinner plans. Gregor quickly made up an excuse.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah.. about that. Sorry guys. Mom wants me home early tonight for uh…" he snapped his fingers, his mind racing. "Uhh… A special family event." He responded apologetically. He craned his neck. Was the figure still there?

"Huh?" Rachel pouted. "But you said you were available yesterday!"

"Yeah, sorry. Mom just makes events really randomly at times." He pretended to be upset. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Hey, you sure you can't ditch your little family event for one time to hang with us cool people?" Matt asked jokingly, turning towards Gregor.

But Gregor wasn't there. He was sprinting across the road, running towards the figure in the distance. He could hear cries of Matt and Rachel behind him, but he paid no attention. He had to know.

* * *

He ran and ran and ran until he reached a small bridge that he needed to cross in order to get to his house. It was a simple bridge that hung over a river about a hundred feet below. The ropes surrounding it were brittle and nearly snapped at the mere touch of it. As Gregor reached the bridge, he realized that the figure was gone. Out of breath, Gregor slowed down to a half in the middle of the bridge and cursed. He almost had her.

Suddenly, a gleam below the bridge caught his eye. Something was in the river. Gregor lay on his belly and crawled up to the ledge of the bridge to crane his neck over it. What he saw took his breath away.

He found himself staring at a girl floating on the water at the bottom of the river. The strange thing was that nature didn't seem to notice the girl, and the water flowed naturally, as if she wasn't there. Her eyes were tinted with unmistakable purple, her white hair billowing in a wind that didn't exist. She looked around for a moment and then looked up. She locked eyes with Gregor and immense joy seemed to creep to her face.

The moment she locked eyes with him, Gregor's eyes widened and he began to remember. Events flashed through his mind like a movie played on fast forward. Everything he had forgotten wedged itself back where it belonged – his memory. The Underland. Ares. Vikus. He looked down again and saw that the girl had reached out for Gregor. The ecstasy on her face began to infect his own and he reached out as well when suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge wave rippled across the river and washed over her. She disappeared.

Emotion broke through rationale and Gregor yelled in shock. He reached out further, leaning out while holding the ropes of the bridge. He could hear something behind him, but he paid no attention to it. All he knew was that he had to get down there. Get down to her. Get down to Lu-

_SNAP!_

The rope he was hanging onto suddenly gave way and let him go. The sound of his death resonated throughout his mind as he fell.

_Snap…snap…snap…_

He turned to look at the bridge and saw Rachel and Matt staring wide-eyed at him from the top of the bridge as he fell. They must have chased him…

He wanted to call out to them, to say he was sorry, to say that he didn't mean for any of this to happen.

He opened his mouth…

Then, the river opened up and ate him.

* * *

**AN: And there you have it! A quick rewrite of Chapter 1. Changed a few things around, but it shouldn't affect the story too much. Review and tell me if this was an improvement from before! (if you remember, that is...)**


	2. Death's Greeting

**Chapter 2**  
Death's Greeting

* * *

"I will never understand you humans." a voice slithered into Gregor's ear. "So easily won by emotion. So overcome… that you forget your fear of death." It continued. "Or did you even fear death in the first place?" it seemed to smile in his ear, making him shiver.

Gregor groaned. Where the heck was he? Why was it pitch black? And where was that voice coming from? More importantly, what was it? He blinked and tried to sit upwards. He couldn't see anything. He rubbed his eyes, but the darkness still tugged at his eyes. Was he blind? Gregor clicked his tongue, hoping to find something useful with his echolocation, but found nothing, which creeped him out even more.

"Oh you won't find anything here," the voice sounded amused. "But I'm surprised you know echolocation. Well, I assume you know echolocation since you are clicking… unless you're simply a clicking idiot who can only communicate through clicks like those damn Crawlers." The voice sighed. Gregor glared into the seemingly infinite darkness.

"Who are you? Where am I?" he demanded. "Show yourself!" He put his fists in front of his face, ready for a fight. His heart raced and he started to breathe faster.

"Bold too," it was behind him now. "I can see why you are the top candidate for the job. Of course, I have yet to examine your fighting ability. Although, based on the amount of people you sent to me, I'd say you are quite the fighter."

Gregor spun around and thrust out his fist in front of him, but nothing happened. He could only hear the shifting of something moving around…What the heck was it talking about? Top candidate? Gregor tried to close his eyes and make sense of everything. Maybe he had been kidnapped and had a bag over his head. No… that didn't make any sense. His hands and legs were still free. Wait a minute. Last he remembered, he was at the river and… Gregor's eyes shot open.

Didn't he die? Gregor frowned and took a deep breath before talking again.

"Let me ask again. Who are you? Where am I?" he feared the worst as the voice started speaking again.

"Ah, I might as well tell you everything anyway, since you're awake now." As the voice rambled, the darkness seemed to take form into a tall, lean man. It then began to form a top hat and a thick, heavy raincoat that seemed to glow with blackness that blanketed the intimidating man. His face was covered by some shroud, but Gregor could still make out the faintest of expressions on it. "You're a deep sleeper, you know that?" the figure groaned.

Gregor didn't say anything and merely stared in shock.

"I go by many names," the figure walked slowly with intention. "But many people just call me… Death." the dark man stated, somewhat bored, waving a limp hand towards himself. Gregor froze. Death? He was talking to Death? How was that even possible? Since when was Death a person?

"Yes, yes. You can get over your initial shock later. No need to get on your knees and flatter me just yet, Warrior." Death scoffed with a smirk.

"…So does this mean I didn't die? If not, then where am I?" Gregor backed away slowly.

"My goodness," Death sighed as crossed his arms and stared at Gregor. "So many questions. That's what I'm starting to hate about you. Everything that pours out of your mouth is a question. A fountain of questions. Marvelous. What is this? What is that?" He yawned. "Very well. Here are your answers: Yes, you are dead. I killed you so you could come here and help me. Simple. Now, let's cut to the chase. I-"

"Wait. Hold up." Gregor stopped him, sure he heard wrong, "Did you just say you killed me?"

"Ah, yes. That." Death smiled. "Well I didn't exactly kill you. You killed yourself. I only…aided the process. All it took was a little push. A little provocation, if you will. In this case, I provoked you with your Underland memories. And you fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker," he grinned as he raised his fist.

At that moment, Gregor lost it. He launched himself at Death and threw out his fists at the man in a fit of rage. Death simply stared at him with a dull expression and watched as Gregor's fists passed right through him. Growling, Gregor jumped backwards slightly, momentarily confused by the event. He then threw a kick, but ended up with the same result. After a flurry of kicks, punches, and yelps of rage being thrown at the man, Gregor finally stopped and eventually just glared at the tall man, who seemed to laugh at him from behind the shroud that covered his face.

"Interesting. You restrain yourself faster than most of the others." Death strode towards Gregor. "Some take hours to get over their anguish. I think I was right to choose you."

"Choose me for what?" Gregor spat. "Being your executioner?" There was an eerie silence that followed his comment, suddenly making Gregor quite nervous. He looked up and froze. Death bore his eyes into Gregor's and a strange expression took on his face. The next second, he did something Gregor didn't expect. Death laughed.

"EXECUTIONER?" Death guffawed. "HAHAHAHA! Good one!" he gasped for air as he doubled over. He continued to laugh and gasp as Gregor stepped back, flinching at the sight. Since when did Death have a reputation of being so… charismatic?

"Oh, yes. I like you very much." Death managed to stifle his laughter and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Ah… sadly no. I do not need an executioner. Death doesn't require one. But I may make an exception for you." He winked. "But no, I need you to get something for me. If you do, you can go back to your life again and do all your little shenanigans." Gregor blinked. He didn't expect to be taken so lightly. Was this guy really death? He acted far too lightly to fit the role.

"So what, exactly, do I need to get?" Gregor asked suspiciously.

"My tool. That thing I'm always represented with. What's it called in mortal terms?" he furrowed his brow. He snapped his fingers repeatedly, muttering under his breath. "Ah yes. My scythe." He clapped his hands together. "Several reprobates from the depths of my prison escaped to the Underland and took it with him. He and his friends are causing all sorts of problems, raising an army from the dead and whatnot." Death wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Stealing my ideas and using much of my power in that scythe. And they say I'm the demon." He scowled.

"Why not just go and get it yourself?" Gregor narrowed his eyes. "Why choose me – a mortal?"

"Because," Death grimaced. "I'm Death. If I leave this place, everything will become chaos. The balance will be unstable. The whole system of life and death will be changed as we know it. "

"Okay then…" Gregor looked around. "Why not just kill the guy who stole your scythe like how you killed me. He'll end up here, won't he?" Gregor countered, still not ready to trust so easily.

"I can deal with men who escape me. That happens all the time." Death scoffed. "What I cannot deal with are men who escape… AND steal my scythe. That scythe grants them immunity from, well, Death itself." He frowned.

"What?" exclaimed Gregor, "How am I supposed to go and get it if I can't kill the culprit? And how can you lose your own scythe?" Death rolled his eyes.

"Killing is always the solution with you, isn't it? Simply knock him out or take the scythe away. Simple! No need for killing, which is my expertise, unfortunately." Death stood up. "So, I am going to send you to the Underland. I don't know exactly where the thief is, since the scythe masks his presence, but I can send you to where I think he'll be. Also, I can't keep watch of my scythe all the time. Don't blame me." Death growled. He then seemed to remember something and rummaged for something in his pockets. Finally, he took something out. "Here."

Death tossed a dark bracelet to Gregor. He caught it expertly and tried to examine it. But before he could take a look at it, the bracelet seemed to come to life and latched onto his arm. Gregor squeaked in surprise for a moment as it nestled onto his arm. We waved his arm and pulled at the bracelet, but it stubbornly stayed put.

"No, keep that on. Whenever you need to fight, twist it and you'll be fitted with the appropriate armor and weapons that I chose for you. Tap the bracelet hard to revert it. It may also help you in times of other needs." He smiled. "Think of it as a gift for your new recruitment. Oh yes, and before I forget." Death crossed over the Gregor and placed a hand on his cheek. "This may sting a bit, so hold on."

Suddenly, Gregor's cheek burned with intense heat as Death traced some pattern on it with his bony finger.

"Augghhh!" Gregor gritted his teeth. "What the hell-" He tore away from Death, holding his cheek tenderly.

"I've branded you temporarily. Just to show that you work for me at the moment." Death yawned. "It's not too bad. Here, take a look." Death pulled out a mirror.

Gregor looked into the mirror and turned his cheek. There, in the middle of his cheek, was a design of a skull sitting on top of a pile of bones. Gregor grimaced. It sure didn't look good on him. He'd probably be better off going to a rookie tattoo artist and getting him to draw on his face while he was on a skateboard. He traced it several times and looked back at Death with a defiant stare.

"Wait. I never agreed to this." Gregor tried to cut in. "I don't want to have anything to do with the Underland anymore." He crossed his arms. Death merely threw him an exasperated look.

"I don't think you have a choice. Bring me the scythe, and then you choose what you want to do. Those are the terms, Warrior. Now go."

"But-" Gregor tried to object, but Death cut him off with a wave of the hand.

"I doubt you didn't want to go back to the Underland, Warrior." Death rolled his eyes. "Just think about how you got here, remember? Hook, line, and sinker?" he cleared his throat pretentiously.

"Then why am I doing this?" Gregor called out. "That means I don't have a reason for doing this if I _want_ to go to the Underland, right?"

"Good point." Death laughed. "Don't worry I'll think of something." Death smiled eerily. Suddenly, Gregor regretted saying that. But before he could say something, Death interrupted.

"Good luck, Warrior. Oh, and by the way, welcome back to the Underland."

Gregor was about to retort again, but then masses of darkness seemed to envelop Gregor in a cocoon. The last thing Gregor saw was Death waving goodbye. Gregor would later swear he saw a strange, warm smile crossing Death's face before the mass took his eyes.

* * *

**AN: Rewrite for Chapter 2 is finished! (7/19/2012)**

**I don't know if you guys can read the subtle changes I made, but enjoy anyway!**


	3. Death's Veil

**Chapter 3**  
Death's Veil

* * *

Gregor underwent strange sensations he would later describe as being in a washing machine, but much worse as he traveled through the dark portal. Not long after he was submerged in blackness, his vision returned and the gates of Regalia stood proudly before him. A sigh slipped out of his mouth. Deep in his mind, Gregor expected it, but he was secretly hoping that the culprit wouldn't end up in this accursed kingdom. As he stepped out of the dark mass and towards the gate, Gregor squinted to adjust to the light and quickly glanced back at the dark door he came from. The dark door hummed and swirled for a few moments before it vanished as fast as it came.

"Welcome back, huh?" Gregor scoffed as he relived Death's last words. "I wish." It's been three years since he last stepped in the Underland to save everyone's lives. Hopefully, no one would recognize him. If they did, then it would be a lot harder to find the damned thief. It was for the best anyway, since it would lower the amount of distractions at least. Although, once he meets_ her_- No. Gregor punched himself. No distractions.

First thing to do, he thought, was to get out of his clothes. The city clothes he brought to the Underland would definitely make him look out of place here in Regalia. Gregor groaned as he came to realize that he was wearing his favorite shirt. Today was seriously not his day. Gregor pondered about what to do. He didn't have Underland garments on him. He just needed something-anything to make him look different. He then suddenly remembered Death's gift to him: The bracelet. Quickly, he pulled it out and stared at it. It looked and felt like metal, but it was surprisingly warm to the touch, like there was something living inside of it. Cautiously, he slipped it on his arm. Immediately, the bracelet shrank, fitting itself on his arm perfectly and it seemed to snuggle around the length of his arm until it became comfortable like a sleepy puppy. Gregor gasped and almost tore it off, but he managed to get a hold of himself. What was next? Turn it? Gritting his teeth, Gregor mustered up his courage and twisted it.

The bracelet glowed for a moment, and then a dark light seemed to explode out of the bracelet and danced around Gregor. When it faded, he realized he was wearing a black sleek, armor set with a jet black knight's helmet that had a shaded visor attached to it. On his back, he found a sheath that carried a double-sided scythe that was decorated with metal rings. He sort of hoped that it would be Sandwich's sword, but then he recalled that it snapped in half three years ago when he made a big show of breaking it. Although, Gregor had to admit that the scythes were pretty cool.

"I sure look like Death's executioner," Gregor chuckled to himself. With a big grunt, Gregor made his way towards the gates.

When he reached it, he noticed that the two guards standing by the gate were watching him warily and started to signal each other. Gregor panicked for a moment. Was the armor too flashy? Maybe he looked more suspicious with the black armor. He groaned inwardly and tried not to show his agitation as walked past them casually. Luckily, they didn't seem to care too much and gave up eyeing him. Gregor let out a sigh of relief and jogged on into the great city of Regalia.

As Gregor walked through the streets of Regalia, he noticed the atmosphere seemed drastically different than the times he visited Regalia in the past. Human children ran around, frolicking with gnawers' children. Bats flew above gracefully, and there were songs of laughter and cheering. Whatever happened in the three years Gregor was gone, it sure changed Regalia for the better. Gregor couldn't help but smile as he watched everything from behind his visor. At times, he found himself scanning the crowd in hopes of seeing a familiar face, but he reprimanded himself soon afterwards and tried to stay on task.  
"C'mon Gregor," he muttered to himself. "Look for a guy with the big, flashy scythe. Piece of cake." Swinging his head side to side, Gregor quickly looked around for any sign of where the scythe could be, but nothing seemed to stand out in the slightest. Everyone was talking and bustling though streets so much it made Gregor dizzy. He wandered around the city, occasionally talking to a gnawer or human along the way. Apparently, no one had seen anything that resembled a scythe at all. Well, besides the one he was carrying on his back anyway.

Eventually, he collapsed onto a bench in some redecorated park he found. Even the park was crowded with younglings and their parents. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. How in the world did Death expect him to find one person in a city like Regalia? He closed his eyes, meditating on the thought. He could hear all sorts of sounds: children laughing, parents scolding, screaming, and singing… he absorbed all of the sounds until he heard someone gasp in front of him. His eyes flew open and found a young teenager standing in front of him.

"…Is that you?" The boy asked slowly as he walked up to Gregor, head cocked. "…Gregor? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be back in the Overland?" Gregor's heart raced. Who was this kid? How did he know who he was?

"It's me!" the kid flashed a huge smile. "Hazard! Remember? I had tons of fun with you when you were here. But then you left and I was really sad… but I always kept you here," he tapped his chest. "Just like Luxa told me to!" he grinned. "I can't believe you're finally back!" he rushed up to hug Gregor.

"Woah, woah there little guy." Gregor pushed Hazard back a bit and tried to deepen his voice as much as possible. "I think you have the wrong guy, young man. I do not know who this 'Gregor' is." He backed away. Hazard smirked.

"You sure look different, Gregor, I'll give you that. But you give off the same smell. You can't fool me." Hazard smiled triumphantly. "See, I've been taking some scent lessons from the rats. I compared your old scent with yours and it smells the same." He lifted his chin. "How's that?"

"Ugh," Gregor groaned. He might as well give it up. He looked around quickly before he took off his helmet and tried to smile. "Looks like you certainly grew older, Hazard." He laughed. "Sorry, but I really need you to keep my presence here a secret for now, alright?" Gregor begged. Hazard's eyes grew wide.

"Why? Are you…not allowed to be here or something?" Hazard cocked his head.

"Sort of. It's a long story." Gregor sighed. Hazard walked closer and awkwardly stared at Gregor's face. When his eyes spotted the brand Death gave him, Hazard's eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Gregor, what is that?" Hazard pointed at the skull.

"Oh, that?" Gregor tried to sound casual. "I got in the Overland. It's called a tattoo." He hoped Hazard couldn't smell lies, too.

"Oh…" Hazard seemed to be thinking about something. "Are you sure you didn't…" he fiddled with his fingers before finishing his statement. "Like… die?" Gregor's breathing skipped a beat. Just how much did this little kid know?

"If I was dead, then how can you see me right now, Hazard?" Gregor asked jokingly. Hazard didn't look convinced. In fact, he seemed more distressed.

"It's just that a lot of the people from the House of D have that same design on their skin… and they were all dead until now." Hazard blurted.

Gregor raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he heard of something like the 'House of D'. He was about to ask Hazard what he was talking about when someone started yelling in their direction. Gregor frantically slipped his helmet back on and turned to see who it was. It was Howard, one of Luxa's cousins. He was about to wave, but then remembered he wasn't supposed to and crossed his arms instead. Hopefully, Howard didn't develop any skills that would help him find out who he was like Hazard did.

"Hazard! You know you cannot play at the park at this hour! You have a verbal class with the fliers soon!" Howard exclaimed. He stopped abruptly when he saw Gregor. "And…who may this be?" he eyed Gregor suspiciously.

"Oh!" Hazard's eyes brightened. "You'll never believe who it is! It's-" Gregor nudged Hazard gently and coughed. Hazard's face turned bright red as he realized his mistake. "It's… uh…" Howard raised an eyebrow as Hazard stammered. Hazard looked helplessly at Gregor.

"The name's Thomas." Gregor stood up and bowed slightly to Howard. "I am a lone warrior and I am just visiting Regalia for the time being. I must say, you have quite the bright boy!" he tried to laugh convincingly. Howard gave a questioning look, but thankfully didn't question him.

"Nice to meet you. I am Howard." Howard tipped his head in return. "I have recently become a doctor. So, if you ever get hurt in a battle, you can always contact me. Now come, Hazard. We must go. It was nice meeting you." Howard called over his shoulder as he swiftly ushered Hazard towards the exit of the park. Hazard turned for a second to take a last look at Gregor. Gregor gave him a thumbs-up and waved good bye.

After they had left, Gregor slouched back into the bench, wondering what to do. He paced back and forth along the park's sidewalk. None of the plans he was coming up with seemed like they would work. Searching every home and building seemed unrealistic. Asking for help was out of the option because people would begin to wonder who he was. What could he do?

It wasn't long before the park was completely empty. Gregor's legs ached and his arms cried out in pain. He should just take it easy and rest up for now. Why not? It's not like Death gave him a time limit anyway. Gregor made sure no one was watching and he pressed the bracelet on his arm. The armor and weapons disintegrated into black sand, which then flowed back into the bracelet. With a huge, relaxing sigh, he lay down on the bench. Before he knew it, sleep had taken him.

* * *

**Author's Note: See you in Chapter 4! Oh yeah, quick question, guys. I did mention that there is going to be a wedding that Gregor is going to crash in the summary. So, who do you think is the lucky (or unlucky) groom? Leave your answer in the reviews! Reviews keep me going! **


	4. Death's Impatience

**Chapter 4  
**Death's Impatience

* * *

Gregor knew where this was. It was black again. Black everywhere. He groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. Not again.

"Your performance seems somewhat… lacking," Death sighed as his wavery form started to solidify. "You have not even found the person using my scythe even when it emits such powerful aura…"

"So, you're just gonna come around and haunt my dreams now?" Gregor scoffed. "I thought I saw the last of you when I stepped through that portal."

"Ah, well." Death seemed embarrassed. "I can come into your dreams and go as I wish. It won't be like this all the time." he waved his smoky hands. "I only came in to inform you that you might want to hurry it up. Time is ticking. Tick tock tick tock, you understand?"

"What?" Gregor rubbed his eyes, still a bit fazed by the sudden darkness. "Why? What's going on?"

"It seems…" Death fumbled with his fingers. "The culprit has grown exponentially stronger. His undead forces have infiltrated Regalia a long time ago and have been living among them. I believe they are called the 'House of D'." Gregor's eyes widened. His meeting with Hazard suddenly flashed back into his mind.

"_Are you sure you didn't…Like… die?_

_"If I was dead, then how can you see me right now, Hazard?"_

"_It's just that a lot of the people from the House of D have a tattoo that looks just like that… and they were all dead until now…"_

Gregor clenched his teeth. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" he glared at Death, who looked to the ground sheepishly.

"Well, to be completely honest…" he laughed nervously. "I didn't do a thorough examination of the situation until just now. That's why I'm here." He coughed and scratched the back of his head. Gregor didn't speak for a long moment before face-palming. Well, at least he knew where to start now. They were already in Regalia. Probably for not too long considering how uncertainly Hazard talked about them. Was the leader of the House of D the one behind Death's theft?

"Wait, so who_ is_ the culprit anyway? You never told me his name." Gregor snapped his head upwards at Death.

"Ah, see. That's another problem." Death coughed again. "I don't know. Tons of dead people were risen and even though the scythe emits a very strong aura, it is snuffled by all the undead out there in Regalia. I cannot pinpoint it to just one person." He sighed. "I _do_ know for sure it is in the possession of this 'House of D' if this helps at all."

"Well, it narrows down the list by, oh I don't know, a couple thousand people." Gregor rolled his eyes. "Can I leave now? I wanna get this over with." He tapped his foot impatiently as Death's eyes seemed to glint in amusement.

"Very well, Warrior. Remember, keep to your promise, and you will be returned safe and sound. Failure is not acceptable." Gregor was going to make a comeback, but his eyes involuntarily shut before he could take a breath.

* * *

When he awoke, Gregor was greeted with a sore back and imprints all over his body. Well, that's what he gets for choosing a bench for a bed. He slowly rose from the bench, still groggy from sleep, and examined his surroundings. The park was as peaceful as he left it, serene and still, yet he could make out some sort of commotion going on outside the park somewhere. Curious, he quickly went the fountain and washed his face before twisting his bracelet and heading off. Walking through several streets and neighborhoods, Gregor noticed that not many people were hustling and bustling through the streets like yesterday.

He then noticed that everyone was starting to gather over to a place that looked like a plaza with flower petals and excited voices. The plaza was highly decorated and all the people around started to cheer, jump up and down, and clap ferociously as several people walked into the center of the plaza. Gregor tripped his way over to see what all the commotion was about.

"Oh! So exciting!" squealed a young girl nearby. "The Queen is so pretty!" she sighed in admiration.

The Queen? Gregor's eyes widened. They couldn't be talking about… _her_? Could they? Gregor's face became distorted with worry.

"Indeed. I never would have believed this day would come." An older man wheezed. "Finally, peace in Regalia!"

Gregor's short steps grew into longer strides as he gently pushed people aside.

"Excuse me," he muttered. "Coming through." What was going on? Was there a truce being held?

"Sorry. Gotta see this." He pushed through as several mice grumbled in annoyance. Finally, he managed to get a good view of what was going on. His heart almost stopped.

At the center of the plaza, there was a large stage decorated with all sorts of flowers, carpets, and ribbons. Luxa stood in the middle of the whole plaza with a stunningly beautiful dress flowing down to her feet. Gregor rubbed his visor and looked again. She looked much older and mature than she was three years ago. Her strikingly silver hair had grown down to her waist and her eyes seemed to produce a harsher color of purple, yet they still had that warm feeling mingling within them. He probably wouldn't have recognized her if she didn't wear her favorite haughty expression on her face. Gregor smiled and his eyes softened. It was the same exact face she used when they first met.

She was quite the sight. He wanted to call out to her, tell her he was here, and apologize profusely for leaving her and the Underland. But he knew that for now, it was not possible. He had a mission to complete. Besides, he can't get too attached. He had a home to get back to. After a while, Gregor finally managed to tear his eyes off Luxa and gazed at the rest of the people standing on the stage. Next to Luxa, Gregor spotted his old mentor – Ripred and couldn't help but burst out in peals of laughter. Ripred's fur at the top of his head was gelled and pulled back. He looked ridiculously foolish and it was evident he was forced to be there, as he was scowling every second and gnashing his teeth constantly.

"Let's get this over with!" Ripred snarled. "I hate ceremonies that last a while. Especially when I am forced to wear such attire!" he snapped.

"Your complaining will certainly not aid the process, Ripred." An older man walked up to the rat. "Be patient. I shall be sure to order a surplus of shrimp with cream sauce just for you." He chuckled.

"I hope you stay your word, Vikus." Ripred sighed and he backed down quietly, fiddling with his gelled hair.

Gregor's eyes lit up in surprise. So Vikus was still around. The old man was still alive and kicking. Suddenly, Vikus stood up and started to raise his hands.

"Now then," Vikus waved his hands for silence. "Let us begin the ceremony. Bring the man and dim the lights!" Vikus ordered.

The plaza's lights fell silent as a man strode up to the platform. He was nicely dressed in some sort clothing that Gregor could only guess was the traditional clothing of Regalia. His hair was neatly combed and he walked with a tall posture that almost seemed obnoxious. As he turned around to face the crowd, he took a huge bow and waved to the crowd with a large smile. Gregor couldn't place it, but he felt like he saw the man before. He looked closer… and nearly gasped out loud. The man's face was almost unrecognizable, but Gregor could never forget the face. He rushed towards the front, no longer caring about the cries of rage and insults that were being thrown at him. He was here. That traitor was here. Gregor eventually managed to make his way to the front of the crowd and took a closer look at his face, desperately hoping that he was mistaken, that it was just a striking similarity. However, fate laughed in his face as Gregor stared at the man now making his way to Luxa. Henry was here.

"Now, if anyone objects to the joining of these two: Queen Luxa of Regalia and… Lord Henry of the House of D, please speak now." Vikus' voice quietly echoed.

The crowd went silent. Gregor's mouth went dry. Lord of House of D? What was going on? Joining? Did that mean Luxa was going to marry this creep? This traitor? Gregor's ears roared. All reason seemed to leave him. His previous thoughts of focusing on the mission and home hid in the farthest corner of his brain. He reached for his scythes and then-

"Gregor. Wait. Let's think about this for a sec!" a voice forced its way into his head. Shocked, Gregor slowly hung his arms by his sides. "Yeah, that's right, big guy. Nice and easy." The voice cooed. "The boss said you had to get the guy who stole his stuff right? Best not to attract attention." The voice continued, sounding quite triumphant.

"Uh.." Gregor stared around stupidly. "Who's talking?"

"Me! Down here!"

"…Where?" Gregor looked around frantically.

"Over…HERE!" Gregor felt a tug on his arm. He looked down at it and found himself looking at the bracelet.

"My bracelet…is talking to me?" Gregor rubbed his hand across the bracelet.

"Hey! Stop that!" the voice growled. "Name's Leonardo. Boss gave me to you so I could give some advice, and my advice right now is to not do what you're thinking."  
"Death sent you with this bracelet, huh? Figures. And here I thought he trusted me enough to do his myself." Gregor groaned. "Sorry Mr. Bracelet, but I'm going to have to ignore that advice." He grimaced. "I can't-"

"Call me Leo. And can't what? Watch this marriage?" scoffed Leonardo. "Well too bad! You'll compromise the mission if you don't sit there a be a good boy for now." Suddenly, Vikus' voice caught Gregor's attention.

"Very well, with no further delays, I shall now commence the joining." Vikus turned and clapped his hands twice. A servant immediately came with a platter containing two chalices and bowed as he held it up the platter to Henry and Luxa. Henry took the chalice with a wide grin and looked at Luxa expectantly. The servant then turned the platter to Luxa. She stared it for a moment and for an instant, her face seemed to be full of despair and sadness before turning back to her usual haughty expression. Her fingers laced around the chalice slowly, but surely. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she took hold of the chalice and the servant backed away.

"Lord Henry of the House of D," Vikus' voice boomed throughout the plaza. "With this Joining, do you swear to uphold your oath to keep the residents of the House of D in this land?"

"I do." Henry stated solemnly.

"Do you swear to love and honor Luxa, the Queen of Regalia, in sickness or in health, for the rest of your life?"

"I do."

Vikus then turned to Luxa, who was gripping the chalice so hard her knuckles were turning white.

"Queen Luxa." Vikus seemed to draw out the words, looking a little sad. "Do you swear to love and honor…" Vikus coughed. "Henry, the Lord of the House of D, in sickness or in health, for the rest of your life?"

Luxa seemed to grip the chalice tighter than ever and looked up slowly at a smiling Henry. She fiddled with her fingers before opening her mouth. "I d-"

Suddenly, there was a humongous _CRASH!_ and all three of them flew to the ground.

Gregor had grabbed ahold of his double-sided scythe, jumped high into the air, and landed in right the middle of the platform. He turned slowly and faced Vikus. The crowd gasped in shock and in disbelief as the lone dark soldier slowly rose off the ground and pointed his scythe at Vikus. He breathed deeply before uttering his next two words:

"I object."

* * *

**Author's Note: So,what do you think? Sorry for taking a while. I had SAT's and whatnot. Again, thanks to those of you who reviewed! I really appreciate it! All you readers out there making yourselves known to me really makes my day! So please, take the time to R and R. :)**


	5. Death's Revelations

**Chapter 5**  
Death's Revelations

* * *

"Oh great, now you've done it," muttered Leonardo as Vikus was staring wide-eyed at the black knight towering over him. Gregor paid him no attention. "I object." He repeated with more clarity.

"Excuse me," Henry pulled himself off the ground. "Just who do you think you are? Interrupting such an important ceremony in this manner!" he pointed a finger at Gregor. "Take off your helmet this instant! I shall have you arrested for treason!" Gregor could not help but roll his eyes. Henry was annoying as ever. His fingers itched to grab the guy and just stab him, but he resisted the urge. Right now, he had to examine his situation. What did he get himself into?

"Wait a moment, Lord Henry," Vikus struggled to get up. "While he did knock us over, yes, I believe he was only expressing his discontent with the Joining Ceremony." While Vikus sounded neutral, Gregor couldn't help but sense a feeling of relief in his voice.

"Yes, I am aware of this," Henry snorted. "But as everyone knows, this joining will establish peace between the House of D and the residents of Regalia forever!" he hissed. "No one in their right mind would interrupt such an event!"

During all of this, Ripred was eyeing Gregor with a very curious expression on his face. Without warning, he suddenly lunged at Gregor with his claws aiming to slice at his neck. Gregor snapped his head towards the incoming target and rolled as Ripred's claws dug into the ground where Gregor was a moment ago. Gregor quickly jumped to his feet and tightened his grip on the scythe. He hadn't fought in years, but somehow, all his experience started to come back to him. He could even feel the buzzing in his ears starting again, which reminded him that about his true fighting capability. His other side that he locked away three years ago. Ripred slowly got up and gave Gregor an amused look.

"Interesting. That would have killed any normal soldier." Ripred examined his claws. "Better try something else. Hmm?" With that, Ripred pounced at Gregor again, but this time, he used his tail to lead the attack. Gregor smirked. He knew what was coming. He held his ground and pretended to shield against the incoming tail. Then, at the last minute, Gregor twisted to the side as Ripred retracted his tail and tried to kick him, but Gregor was no longer there. Instead, he was holding the scythe to Ripred's neck and was stepping on Ripred's tail, much to the rat's discomfort. A disturbing silence followed and Gregor could only hear the sound of Ripred's heavy breathing. All of the sudden, Gregor felt a jolt and Ripred wasn't under his scythe anymore. He backed up in surprise. Where did he go? Just then, Gregor felt a strong kick from behind and he fell forward with a grunt. As he kneeled to get up, he felt a claw slip under his neck.

"Wait!" Gregor heard someone cry. Someone ran up to Gregor and kneeled at his face. "Wait." Gregor struggled to look up to see who his savior was and froze. Luxa was there, kneeling before him, staring right into his eyes. His limbs refused to move as Luxa's deep, purple eyes melted into his. He knew that the shaded visor would ensure no one would be able to see his face, but he felt like she could see him completely. He was thankful that the visor was shaded because he could feel his face growing hotter by the minute. "Let go of him, Ripred." Luxa ordered. Ripred reluctantly pulled his claw back and scampered back to Luxa's side.

"Don't try anything funny, boy," Ripred pointed a claw at Gregor as Luxa helped him up. Luxa shot Ripred a look.

"Let us try to keep this as peaceful as possible," she retorted before facing Gregor with her haughty expression. "Your fighting skills must be quite remarkable if you are able to stand against Ripred for that long. You have earned my respects." She turned away from him for a moment before facing him again. "But, interrupting this ceremony in such a manner is highly offensive. I would kindly request you to take off your helmet," she then held out her hand, expectant.

Gregor stared at it. Somehow, he felt like that wasn't such a good idea, which was later illustrated by Leonardo's pestering.

"Well?" Henry shouted. "What are you waiting for? Take it off!"

"I would highly advise," Leonardo whimpered, "to not let her take off your helmet. It's too risky. The thief might be here and recognize you. He may realize that you are here to take the scythe from him."

"Can it, Leo." Gregor gritted his teeth. "I'm trying to think. What does it matter if my helmet is taken off?"

"The people may recognize you as the _Warrior from Above_. If it becomes know that you were somehow reborn, then the culprit will come to the conclusion that you are sent from Death to destroy him." Leonardo tried to explain. "Well, assuming he is here, which they most likely are."

"What are you talking about? How does the Underland know I died in the first place? I died, like, yesterday." How could the news of his death spread so fast? It seemed nearly impossible.

Leonardo seemed surprised at his response, and then made a strange sound like he realized something.

"What is it, Leo?" Gregor glanced down at his arm. "Tell me."

"Gregor…" Leonardo seemed uncomfortable. "I thought you knew. Dammit! I wasn't supposed to tell you!" he wailed in Gregor's head.

"Leo, just tell me!" Gregor yelled back in his mind.

"No, no, no. I can't mess this up any more than I can. It'd be disastrous… I think."

"Leo," Gregor's fists grew white as they gripped the scythe harder. "TELL ME!"

"Fine, fine." Leonardo grumbled. "What a grouch. Anyway... uhm... you see…." He cleared his voice before speaking.

"You see… your death occurred over a year ago."

* * *

_One year. _

_It's been one year. _

_Forget about him. _

_He's gone... and he's not coming back. _

_Just... throw it away. _

At least, that's what Rachel was trying to tell herself to do. Rachel was at her locker, staring at the picture she and Gregor took together on one of the days they walked home together. He was grinning his childish smile and had wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Of course, she was blushing furiously and looked awkward in the picture. Every time she looked at it before, she felt warm and tingly inside... but now... she started to tear up. Life was unfair.

"Rachel!" a voice poked behind her. Rachel looked up, startled. Matt was looking over her shoulder, seeing the picture and the tears forming in Rachel's eyes. He looked at the picture, then to Rachel, then back the picture. Finally, he spoke.

"You still like him, huh?" he smiled softly. Rachel was about to respond, but Matt raised up a hand."Hey, don't worry. I miss him too." Rachel braced herself for some of Matt's teasing, but it never came. Instead, he just continued to stare at the picture, making her feel awkward. She shifted her weight from toe to toe, waiting for him to say something.

"I was just going to throw the picture away." she muttered stubbornly after a while, turning away from Matt. Matt chuckled and patted her head.

"Sure you were. Even if you were, I wouldn't let you." he turned her face towards him. "You shouldn't just throw away something like that, alright?" His face inched closer to hers and he stared, expectant, waiting for a response. Rachel slowly nodded, slightly blushing at how close their faces were. Matt then suddenly seemed to become aware of the awkward situation. He quickly rose and turned away, scratching his head, embarrassed. "Uh, yeah. Anyway..." he cleared his throat. "Gregor's family and I are going off to visit him for his birthday later today. You wanna come?"

"Sure." Rachel wiped her eyes frantically as she closed her locker. "Can you walk me there? I don't think I know the way."

"Oh, but I'm not going there directly. I'm going to to run some errands." Matt laughed. "It might be boring."

"That's alright." Rachel smiled. "I need something to do anyway."

"'Atta girl." Matt flashed a grin and poked her gently. "Let's go." he turned and trotted off as Rachel ran up behind.

"Matt?" Rachel tugged his shirt. Matt stopped, surprised, and turned his head back slightly.

"Yeah?"

"I just want to say... Thanks." Rachel was looking down at her shoes.

"Eh. You'd do the same if I was crying like a baby, too." Matt laughed. Rachel looked up, evidently offended.

"... I wasn't crying like a baby." she glowered at him.

"Oh you so were."

"Nuh uh."

"Yuh huh."

"Shut up." she smacked him with her bag and ran ahead.

"Ouch..." Matt remarked as he chuckled and ran off after her.

The two of them went into several stores, shopping for things that Matt needed for school among other things. Books, food, random toys, and all sorts of things. The errands didn't take very long, and the pair quickly found themselves with an hour left to kill before the meeting. Without anywhere to go, they decided to stay at the park.

"Nice day out for the park." Matt stretched. "Man... what are we going to do for a whole hour?" Matt groaned as he dropped the bags onto a bench and slammed into it. Rachel laughed and slouched next to him.

"I have no idea..." she sighed. She stared up at the clouds, looking for inspiration. "I remember we used to play here all the time with him." she closed her eyes.

"Yeah, I remember those times." Matt laughed. "We were really young back then. Having all sorts of adventures with you being the damsel in distress."

"That was disgusting." Rachel groaned. "I never even got saved in the end." she chuckled.

"We tried our best, you highness." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, try harder." she giggled.

"As you wish, your majesty." Matt groaned in a mocking voice. Rachel laughed and suddenly, her head was on Matt's shoulder, eyes almost closed. "It sure is nice out today," she murmured.

"Uhh... yeah." Matt tensed a little. "It sure is..." Matt spoke slowly in a low voice, very aware of Rachel's head. He was suddenly starting to feel a bit hot and turned his face away quickly. His mind went blank: There was nothing to talk about. Panicked, he tried to think of something to say.

"Uhm. I'm thirsty.. too bad we didn't buy any drinks." Matt inwardly smacked himself. What was that?

"I saw a vending machine across the street. I'll get us some drinks." she quickly lifted her head off his shoulder, much to Matt's disappointment, as she scampered off before Matt could object.

_Clunk! Clunk!_

After she grabbed her drink, Rachel stooped to grab Matt's until she noticed something. Her hand was shaking. Why was that? Her face was feeling warm and she could sense that she had a weird smile on her face. She was feeling weird, and Matt was starting to become hard to look at without... feeling fuzzy inside. She never felt like that unless she was with Gregor. Although, now that she thought about it, throughout the year, Matt was always there for her ever since Gregor left them. She couldn't count the amount of times he came and talked to her like he did today. He was really nice to her, walking her home in Gregor's place, eating lunch with her, covering for her when she cried in front of everyone, and even buying her sweets time to time. He was a great listener and Rachel could just stare at his face and know everything would be alright. His eyes were so warm and comforting to drown into... Wait. What was she thinking about? She blushed furiously and almost dropped the cans she just bought as she walked across the street.

Rachel was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the glaringly red street light screaming "Don't Walk" in front of her. If she had, she might have been able to see the truck roaring down the road. She might have prevented the whole mess that was about to happen. But she didn't.

_HOOOONKKKK_

"RACHEL!"

* * *

"…What?" Gregor stared at the ground, wide-eyed. "I died… a year ago? But it feels just like yesterday!"

"I'll explain this later. Right now, you gotta get out of here! We can use the darkness to teleport, but we need to get into a dark area. Anything will do. Just as long as it covers you. So RUN!" Leonardo desperately pleaded.

Gregor shook his head, trying to think. Right. Focus. Like that was easy to do after you've been told you've been _dead _for a year without knowing. Okay. A dark area? The whole plaza was lit up like a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve! Where could he go?

"Well?" Luxa's voice brought him back to reality. "Will you take off your helmet, or shall I?" she was starting to become impatient, as her hand inching closer to Gregor's helmet. This wasn't good. He just had to get out of Regalia for a bit so he could start over. This was clearly the wrong approach in finding the culprit.

He scanned the area, looking for something to do. His eyes, for some reason, fell on Ripred, who was still glaring at him. Suddenly, he had an idea. It was a crazy idea, and he wasn't sure if it would work, but there was no time to think. He only had one chance. If he messed this up, he was going to be in a world of pain. He quickly rose, grabbed Luxa across the shoulders, and held his scythe to her neck. The crowd immediately grew into an uproar as Luxa yelped in rage, trying to fight against his grip. She was a competent fighter, like Gregor remembered, but he managed to get a firm hold on her, preventing her from making any sudden or dangerous movements. Luckily for him, she wasn't armed, or else he'd be dead.

"Nobody move!" Gregor's voice roared through the crowd, trying to find order. "I have your queen hostage." He declared as he backed up from Ripred and the others.

"Boy, you do not know what you are doing." Ripred's voice grew dangerously low. "You do _not_ want to threaten my bond." He growled as he slowly approached Gregor with claws unsheathed, ready to pounce.

"Really now? I don't see why, old gnawer." Gregor sneered at the enraged rat. "You don't scare me." At that moment, Gregor started to hold his breath. If things went the way he hoped, the plan should be able to work. It all depended on Ripred's next move. Ripred knew he couldn't attack Gregor directly like last time since he had Luxa hostage, but there was one move that Ripred could do that would grant Gregor his freedom…

"How unfortunate that you do not learn from past experiences like the one I gave you only moments ago." Ripred scoffed as his approach grew faster and faster. "I guess I'm going to have to pound you harder this time so you will not forget. _Boy_." He spat out the last word like he was spitting out a worm.

With that, Ripred jumped high into the air, casting a huge shadow across the plaza. That was it. The move Gregor was hoping for. He let out a breath of relief and sprinted towards the shadow, shouting: "Leo! Do it now!" The shadow formed an endless pit, but the time to get into it was growing rapidly lower with Ripred's descent. Without thinking, Gregor slid into it, allowing it to engulf him before disappearing.

Oh God. That dishwasher feeling. That was what was going through Gregor's mind as the dark hole opened up and dropped him onto a lump of sand. Shadow transportation sure was comfy. Gregor shook his head and took a look around. He was on a beach? Strange.

"Leo, where am I?" Gregor groaned as he lifted himself up.

"You didn't specify an area, so I just took you to a random place from your memories. It looks like you are on some sort of beach somewhere outside Regalia." Leonardo stated happily. Gregor rolled his eyes and coughed.

"Thank you Captain Obvious, do you have any useful information?"

"My name is Leonardo. And I believe the locals call this place Crystal Beach, if that helps at all." Leonardo added.

Crystal beach? Why did that name sound familiar? It seemed like he was a here a long time ago. It was on the tip of his tongue, and he knew it. Just a little more thinking…

"You guys should get to some shelter for the time being. I'm sure search parties are looking for you. You're not that far from Regalia, after all." Leonardo's urging interrupted Gregor's thoughts.

"Wait. What do you mean 'you guys'? Who are you talking about?" Gregor gazed down at his bracelet, confused.

"Did you not intend to bring them?" Leonardo jerked his arm in a certain direction, pointing Gregor's arm towards a girl in a beautiful dress, now being ravaged by the sand and water, lying on the beach unconscious. Next to her stood Ripred, who was now damp and very, very angry. Gregor's eyes widened. Uh oh.

* * *

"Matt! Matt! Wake up!" a voice cried as Matt's vision slowly cleared. Rachel's tear-ridden face came into view. "Oh thank God..." she hiccuped. I thought you wouldn't wake up..."

Matt blinked slowly. What happened? The last thing he remembered was Rachel just standing in the middle of the road, about to be run over. He grabbed her and then... what?

"What happened? Are you okay?" Matt bolted upright, worried. "Are you hurt anywhere?" he grabbed her shoulders. "You're okay, right?"

"I should be asking that to YOU! YOU YOU YOU STUPID! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Rachel cried as she punched Matt's arm repeatedly. "If you died in front of me like he did..." she crumbled to the ground. "I don't know what I would do..." she barely whispered.

Matt quickly wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry I worried you. But what were _you _thinking, standing in the middle of the road like that?" Matt grimaced. "Did something happen?"

Rachel didn't say anything and just buried her face in her hands. Matt sighed and rose to his feet.

Where were they anyway? Matt looked around. It seemed to be pitch black. Was it night time already? Moreover, how did they come out of the accident unscathed? They should have some broken bones at least, but apparently, they were fine. What was going on?

"How emotional." a voice echoed. "I think I am about to cry."

Matt snapped his head around, looking around for the source of the sudden voice. "Who are you?" he growled. "Get out of here and mind your own business."

"Feisty one aren't you? You're just like him. And for your information, this _is _my business, whether you like it or not." A dark outline slowly formed in front of Matt.

"I'm just like who? And get away from me!" Matt helped Rachel up and backed them away from the shadow. "We'll call the police if you start giving us any trouble."

"The police?" the figure stood completely still for a moment, staring at Matt, who started to shift uncomfortably. Out of nowhere, the figure suddenly starting bursting with laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA THE POLICE! You're just as funny as he is!" he cried. "Ahhh.. must be my lucky day."

"Who are you talking about? Where are we?" Rachel managed to ask, pulling away from Matt, much to his disappointment.

"Let me introduce myself first." the figure chuckled before slouching in an seemingly invisible chair. "The name is Death. Welcome to my Realm."

* * *

**Author's Note: I think my chapters are getting longer and longer. So good for you guys! More stuff to read! Unfortunately, I have a lot of tests, projects, and other ridiculously time-consuming activities, so I am not sure if I can upload new chapters as fast as you want me to. Also, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. I swear it brings a smile to my face every time I see one and then I can't help but start up a new chapter with renewed fervor. You can simply leave a comment on how you like the story so far. If you don't, then leave an explanation on what I am lacking! Thank you!**


	6. Death's Embarrassment

**Chapter 6**  
Death's Embarrassment

* * *

Ripred's eyes seemed to flash with anger and Gregor could only stare as he stepped backward weakly, watching the enraged rat slowly rise from the water lapping at his feet and stalk towards Gregor. What was going on? How did Luxa _and_ Ripred get here?

Gregor narrowed his eyes as he recalled what happened. Ripred jumped. He ran for the shadow… he had the scythe in one hand and the other… was holding Luxa's hand! Gregor smacked himself inwardly. He had pulled Luxa into this mess! Great. Okay, he knew how Luxa got here, but how did Ripred get here? Gregor thought for a moment. After he and Luxa went through Ripred's shadow, the rat would then fall and… meet up with his own shadow…? Gregor's eyes widened. That was it. Ripred had fallen through his own shadow. It was almost laughable. He was the perfect fit for his own shadow, so he could get through easily enough.

Gregor was thinking so much, he forgot about his situation for a moment. As soon as he realized, he quickly snapped his attention in front of him and his body tensed. Too late, Gregor noticed, Ripred was approaching fairly quickly and still had a deadly expression written on his face. He was only a few meters away at most. Gregor's arms tightened as his fingers wound around the scythe for reassurance. What should he do? Should he attack? Try to explain the situation? His mind was growing more and more panicked with each step Ripred was taking.

"Leonardo? Any advice?" Gregor muttered desperately. He raised the scythe to his face.

"Brace yourself." Leonardo replied solemnly. "He may attack at any moment."

Ripred's snout was now inches away from his, his eyes boring into Gregor's visor. The two of them stood there, staring at each other for a while, not making a single movement. After what seemed like a century, Gregor decided to open his mouth to try to talk. Out of nowhere, Ripred's claw flashed across his face, too quick for Gregor to see, never mind dodge.

"Augh!" Gregor yelped as he slipped backwards and instinctively thrust his hand out to block any further attacks. However, no such attacks ever came. Instead, Gregor heard something that made his heart skip a beat.

_Bump. Thump. Thump bump…._

At first, Gregor didn't understand what happened. Everything was a lot clearer. He could breathe a lot better. Oh no.

Gregor put his hand up to where the helmet should have been and his hand brushed against his hair. His heart raced. He was exposed! In the next moment, Ripred tackled Gregor to the ground and bared his teeth before raising his claws to Gregor's neck. He struggled to escape from Ripred's grip, but to no avail. Crap. Gregor was about to yell at the rat until Ripred's annoyed tone cut him off.

"You know I hate getting wet, boy." Ripred growled. "Even though I'm used to it now, it's annoying. I took a shower this morning!" Ripred sighed. "Honestly, at this point, anything you do right now is pretty annoying." The rat snorted. "Oh yeah," Ripred continued. "Nice job on almost blowing your cover back there. You clearly didn't plan this out like I trained you to."

Gregor stopped struggling and stared at the rat in shock. Did Ripred know who he was?

"Yes, I knew who you were the moment you made your appearance in 'Crashing my Long-Lost-Honey's Wedding' drama." Ripred rolled his eyes, as if he was reading Gregor's mind. "And if you're wondering why I attacked you back then, I had to keep up an act." Ripred leaned his weight on Gregor's chest, causing him to wheeze. "I knew you could dodge those pathetically easy attacks. Be thankful I went easy on you." Ripred now slouched on top of Gregor. "And here I was, thinking you were dead. You should have seen the girl when Vikus told her the news. Bawling her eyes out like waterfalls." He yawned. "Luckily for you, she's not as perceptive as I am. She's still pretty clueless."

"G-get off." Gregor managed to cough out.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Ripred leaned in, shifting more weight onto Gregor's protesting chest. "I don't think I can hear you."

"I said…" Gregor gritted his teeth. "_Get off!" _he yelled and used all his strength to try to move the hunk of fur on his chest.

"Touchy." Ripred sighed as he easily took in the push and slid off of Gregor. "We'll talk about this later. For now, we should find some shelter. Get her up." He pointed a claw in Luxa's direction. "And put your helmet back on for now. I don't want another drama moment." Ripred sighed as Gregor scrambled to get his helmet.

"Some 'Welcome Back' party this is, eh, boy?" Ripred seemed to smirk before trudging off towards a cave-like structure that was nearby. "Hurry up!"

The waves of the Waterway seemed to chuckle along with the rat as Gregor tentatively approached the silver-haired beauty lying on the shore.

* * *

"Is this some sort of joke?" Matt glowered at the smoky figure before him and Rachel. "What the fu-"

"Uh uh uh." Death waved a finger at Matt's trembling lips. "I don't allow profanity in my realm."

Rachel stared at the dark figure in shock. What was this thing? She built up her courage and tried to speak.

"C-could you just leave us alone, sir?" Rachel asked, still staring wide-eyed at Death.

"Sorry. No can do. You guys died. So for the time being, you're stuck with me." Death examined his hands. "Which is funny because I'm Death… oh forget it." He gave up when neither Rachel nor Matt laughed.

"So we did die…" Rachel sank to her knees. "Are we going to Heaven or Hell, then?" she looked uncomfortably at Death.

"Hell? Heaven?" Death looked surprised. "It's been a while since I've been asked that." Death seemed to narrow its eyes before answering. "I honestly do not know. I am simply Death. I do not decide such fates."

"So… what exactly are we just doing here then?" Matt cautiously approached Death. "If you don't decide where we go, then why the hell are we even here in the first place?"

"Very perceptive of you." Death cleared his throat. "Usually, people can't come back to life; however, I am willing to make you an offer of resurrection if you will do me a favor."

"A…favor?" Rachel and Matt asked simultaneously.

"Yes, although I will admit it is quite dangerous. Your safety is not guaranteed."

"And what if we refuse?" Matt asked.

"Then I simply hand you off to those who judge whether you go to Heaven or Hell." Death shrugged. "Pretty simple."

"And there's no chance of resurrection if that happens?" Rachel slowly stood up. "Not one?"

"_This _is your only chance." Death urged. "Make a choice now."

Rachel and Matt stood together, glancing at each other. Should they take the risk of putting their lives in danger to come back to life?

"Oh yes, I forgot to answer your question." Death pointed to Matt. "The person I was comparing you to before was supposedly your very close friend. Gregor, was it?"

Matt and Rachel's heads snapped upwards at the sound of his name.

"Yes, he came through here as well and decided to take the deal of resurrection." Death clasped his hands together. "If you accept this offer as well, you may be able to see him again."

Immediately, Rachel leaped forward, eyes brightening.

"I'll do it." She stated boldly without hesitation. Matt shot her a look, but she didn't even turn her face in the slightest.

Death chuckled and bowed. "Excellent. Now, I shall-"

"Wait!" Matt ran up to Rachel and grabbed her arm. "Are you sure about this? Your life could be in danger and I-"

"Gregor's there. If we can bring him back and all come back to life together, won't that make you happy?" Rachel glared at Matt.

"Of course it would!" Matt growled. "But is it worth risking our lives for?"

"We're already dead. How can it get worse than this?" Rachel pointed out.

"Ah, yes well." Death coughed. "If you die on this mission I send you on… I'm afraid you fall into permanent oblivion. In essence, you cease to exist entirely. You still have the risk of that."

Rachel stood still for a moment and her eyes seemed to sag.

"See?" Matt practically yelled. "It's too dangerous! C'mon, I care about Gregor too, but I think we should let this one go. Okay, Rachel?" Matt grabbed Rachel by the shoulders and put his eyes to hers. "Rachel. Please." He pleaded.

"The three of us coming back together… " Rachel's face was unreadable. "That would be better than any Heaven I can imagine." She murmured. "I'm sorry, Matt. I've made up my mind." She pulled away from Matt and turned to face Death. "I'm ready." She stared coolly into Death's face.

"Very well." Death nodded and pressed a finger to Rachel's cheek, branding her with his mark. "Your mission and necessary materials will be given to you as soon as you walk through this door." Death waved his hands and a dark portal appeared. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you." Rachel was trembling, but her face was full of confidence as she tripped towards the door.

"Wait." Matt's voice trailed from behind her. She turned around and saw him looking down at his shoes, playing with the tip of his shirt. "God, you're an idiot." He grumbled. Rachel frowned and was about to snort in contempt when Matt interrupted her. "But I guess I'm a bigger idiot for this." He looked up. "I'm going too."

* * *

"It looked a lot closer before," Gregor muttered as he trudged behind Ripred, who was probably on some sort of enhanced form of caffeine based on his speed. "How much further is it?"

"Stop complaining!" Ripred hollered back. "And keep her steady!" he chuckled. "We're almost there, so hold your tongue."

They've been walking for at ten minutes towards a cave Ripred found, but it didn't seem to get any closer. Maybe it was because of his armor. Or Leo's incessant nagging. Or maybe it was the silver-haired girl who was sleeping soundly on his back. After about five more minutes of tripping, Gregor crumbled to his knees. He needed a break.

"Ripred! Let's stop for now. I'm too tired to move." Gregor wheezed. There was no response. Gregor craned his neck to look for the rat's outline, but it was nowhere to be seen. Great. The caffeinated rat went too far ahead. He gently set Luxa down against a rock and slumped next to her.

"Might as well take a break and wait for him to come back," Gregor muttered to himself. He was starting to sweat profusely. "Probably should take this armor off…." Gregor glanced at Luxa, who showed no signs of waking. It should be alright to only take off the helmet right? Gregor hesitantly grabbed the sides of his helmet and slowly pulled it off. At once, he sighed in relief as the wind tousled with his hair and kissed his cheeks.

He eased back against the rock again and tried to look around at the scenery, but eventually, he couldn't help but stare at Luxa.

She looked like an angel when she was sleeping. Her soft breathing swayed her body up and down and her hair looked as soft as silk, even though it was slightly damp. Gregor blinked and realized that his face was only inches away from hers. He could hear her taking in the air and exhaling slowly. If Ripred were to come back now… Gregor shuddered. It would be worse than hell. He'd never hear the end of it.

Gregor started to shift away when suddenly, Luxa's head slowly slid onto his shoulder. He froze. Soon after, the rest of her body seemed to follow her head's direction. "Mmmmmmmfhh…" she murmured as she cuddled up against Gregor. Oh great. Gregor gulped. It was checkmate all over again. If he made any sudden movements, she would wake up and he didn't have his helmet on. He inwardly swore at himself for taking his helmet off. He imagined Luxa waking up and realized Ripred's arrival wouldn't be so bad after all. His heart raced as he slowly turned his head and looked down at her. Even though he was in a bad situation, he couldn't help but want to get closer to her. She was too much. Gregor felt that if he didn't do something right now, his heart would burst in insanity.

His head roared and he felt as if he couldn't think properly. His head seemed to have developed a mind of its own as it moved towards Luxa's face. Moments later, Gregor found himself pressing his lips to her cheek. As soon as he realized what was going on, he quickly retreated, blushing furiously.

What was he _doing? _Kissing her in her sleep? He burned in shame as he tried to forget about it, but the lush touch of her cheeks tantalized him.

"Oh, God. I'm so hopeless." He groaned. If Luxa wasn't cuddled up next to him, he would've thrust his head onto the rock until he reached his senses. Of course, if she didn't cuddle with him in the first place, he wouldn't _need _to do that.

"Does my training ever come through that thick skull of yours?" Ripred's voice slashed through Gregor's daydreams. "I leave you alone for one second and I find you planting smoochies on the Queen?" he snorted. "You're worse than I thought."

If it was possible, Gregor's face grew redder. "S-s-shut up." He whispered. "Get my helmet and put it on my head!" he urged.

"You know," Ripred yawned. "I wanted to avoid a drama moment before, but at this point, I really don't care. She needs to know eventually. Just wake her up."

"I suggest you not do that." Leonardo called out from the bracelet. "The less people know you exist, the better."

"Yes, listen to the hunk of metal," Ripred rolled his eyes, apparently unfazed at the fact that a bracelet was talking.

"He saved my butt before, so I'll listen to him. Just give me the helmet, Ripred." Gregor practically begged.

"No, you don't want to expose yourself because you're too afraid to confront," Ripred scoffed.

"So what if I am? Just give the stupid helmet!" Gregor gritted his teeth.

"Ah. Too late." Ripred sighed.

"What? What do you mean by…" Gregor trailed off as he felt Luxa stirring. Well this wasn't good.

Her eyelids gradually opened to reveal the hypnotic violet eyes they hid. They moved side to side, taking in the scene, before finally settling on Gregor's face. For a moment, nothing happened. Gregor's hope flared. Maybe she didn't recognize him after all? However, he cringed as he watched Luxa's eyes grow wide and she frantically lifted her head off his shoulder.

"W-w-w-what…" she stammered as she stared at him. "What…?" she jumped back and looked at Gregor warily. At first, it seemed like she wouldn't dare come closer, but eventually, she cautiously moved closer to him and stared at him for the longest of moments. Finally, after about an eternity and a half of staring, Luxa hesitantly took one finger and poked him on the shoulder. It stayed there. She looked at the finger, then at his face, then back to the finger, then back to his face again.

"Uhm…" Gregor cleared his throat nervously while Luxa was still watching her finger intently, apparently shocked. "I guess I should have told you that I- mmf!" Gregor was quickly silenced, for his mouth was otherwise occupied. Gregor's eyes widened in shock as Luxa's lips interlocked with his. His mind went blank. She... was kissing him. She was actually kissing him. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was in a state of bliss. Slowly, Gregor gradually started to kiss back and grabbed her by the shoulders. He started to remember this feeling. The surge of emotion coursing through his veins, his heart beating like a drum, his body shivering in delight. Finally, much to Gregor's disappointment, Luxa pulled away to get some air and stared dreamily as her fingers crawled up to her lips.

"Please. No one wake me from this dream." Luxa whispered as she smiled at the sky.

"Ugh." Ripred spat. "This is definitely not the drama I was looking for," Gregor vaguely heard Ripred gag in the background before addressing Luxa. "Good news, Your Majesty, you're not dreaming. Now get up and start moving your little feet. We have work to do."

Luxa looked at Ripred and jumped back as if she noticed him for the first time. "Ripred? What are you-" she cut off and suddenly snapped her attention back to Gregor. Gregor realized that she must have just realized that she was actually awake.

Luxa's face was indescribable. Her whole body turned a very light pink and she twitched all over, not able to meet Gregor's eyes.

"….oh."

* * *

"Halt!" at the gates of the House of D, a guard lifted his hand up at two figures approaching. "This is the House of D. Unless you have come for a meeting, you must be turned away. What is your business here?" he called out to them.

The two figures stopped. They wore night black armor and had visors that were completely shaded. On one of their backs sat a jet black bow and shadowy arrows. The other carried two katana-shaped swords with black writing etched on the blades.

The duo turned their backs on the guard and started to talk to each other urgently, as if they were making a plan. Eventually, one of the figures threw their hands up in the air, apparently giving in to what the other was saying. The guard couldn't take it anymore.

"Let me repeat the question." The guard tightened his grip on the sword he was carrying. "What is your business here?"

After a moment of silence, the two finally turned around and faced the guard. One of them stepped forward and bowed slightly before simply stating: "Our apologies. We do not mean to cause trouble at all." The helmet slowly twisted upwards and stared at the guard.

"Our names are Rachel and Matt. We are here to join the House of D."

* * *

**Finally managed to scrape together the chapter! Sorry it's kind of jumping from one scene to another. It's just gotta be like that for now :/  
Thank you to all of you who reviewed! The last couple ones really encouraged me to hurry and finish this chapter. Keep the reviews up! Do you like how the story is going so far? Is it too rushed? Too slow? Too short? TELL ME! I can't improve my writing otherwise. (Well maybe I can... but it'd be less efficient). Anyways. Enjoy!**


	7. Death's Reset

**Chapter 7**  
Death's Reset

* * *

"Alright, pups! Hustle up!" Ripred called over to the two lumbering figures behind him. "You're almost there! Come on!" he yelled before scrambling into the cave.

Gregor was trudging as fast as he could, while helping Luxa up the scattered boulders and rocks. Ever since the blissful moment they shared a while ago, neither Gregor nor Luxa could look at each other without feeling awkward. Eventually, Gregor mustered up his courage to break the awkwardness between them.

"So you finally became queen while I was gone, huh?" Gregor coughed. "Wish I could have been there for that."

"Yes, it was a very big deal. There was a very large feast." Luxa frowned slightly. "But the thrill of being a queen is not long-lasting. It is a very boring job to take."

"Oh yeah?" Gregor flashed a grin. "Bet you get to boss people around a lot. Like Ripred, right?"

"Oh yes." Luxa didn't smile. "But I have been doing that ever since I was a child, so it feels no different."

"Right…" Gregor scratched his head. Well this wasn't going anywhere.

"Do you remember where this is?" Luxa suddenly asked. She was staring out at the beach with a distanced look on her face. Gregor turned in surprise.

"It seems really familiar… but I don't remember why…" Gregor stared out at the beach.

"It was on your first visit. You tried to escape through the Waterway and you ended up in the gnawer's hands on this very beach. We had to come and rescue you."

"Oh…" Gregor turned slightly red. "Sorry about that."

"It is in the past." Luxa replied like it didn't matter. Gregor frowned. Why was she so quiet and non talkative?

After that, Gregor gave up trying to talk to the suddenly reclusive Luxa. Their communication eventually reduced itself to the occasional grunts and murmurs. After what seemed like hours, the cave's entrance welcomed them.

"Took you long enough," grumbled the rat when they finally arrived. As usual, he was slouched on the wall in a horrible fashion. "I thought you had died, with the time you were taking and all." He continued to grumble.

"Very funny, Ripred." Gregor wheezed as he eased Luxa down before he slumped against a nearby wall himself. "So you have a plan?" he raised an eyebrow at the rat.

"Wait a moment," Ripred held up a paw. "I have some questions for you, boy." He paced around the cave, twitching his whiskers. "First and foremost: Why are you here?"

"What? What do you mean? You led me all the way out here and-"

"No, no, no." he spat in annoyance. "I mean why are you _alive_?" Ripred sniffed as he turned towards Luxa. "I'm sure our Queen would also love to know the answer." He chuckled as he swiped a paw towards a thumb-twiddling Luxa who looked up suddenly at the mention of her name.

"I…" she paused for a moment before standing up and turning away from Gregor with a haughty air about her. "I… do not have interests in affairs that do not concern me." She crossed her arms, still facing away from Ripred and Gregor. "You may talk all you like. This has no interest for me." She huffed. Gregor stared in disbelief. How can this not concern her? She just kissed him minutes ago! He was about to retort when Ripred waved a paw in his direction.

"Very well." Ripred shrugged nonchalantly and turned to Gregor. "Talk. Now."

So, with great reluctance, he did. He explained his life in the Overland and his school life with his friends. At one point when Gregor mentioned Rachel, he saw Luxa shift uncomfortably in the corner of his eye. He quickly then went on and talked about how he had died and how he had talked to Death. Finally, he explained what he was thinking when he crashed the ceremony and all the events before he came into this god-forsaken cave with Ripred. After Gregor was finished, it was silent in the cave for a moment.

"Well… that is a bit far-fetched." The rat tugged at his whiskers. "By the way… how's Lizzie doing?" the rat scratched the back of his head, trying not to look at Gregor's amused face.

"According to my sources in the Overland, Gregor's family is doing fine physically and mentally." Leonardo's voice piped up. "Emotionally, however, they seemed to be scarred with the death of our little hero here."

"No one asked you, metal junk." Ripred growled at the bracelet on Gregor's arm. He jerked his head at Gregor. "You tell me. How was she when you last saw her?

"She's doing okay. She's gotten a lot of friends in Middle School and she's really taking the role of Boot's older sister seriously." Gregor couldn't help but smile as Ripred's face seemed to grow more serene.

"Hmm. Well that's good." Ripred murmured before snapping back to attention. "Right. So, we need to find this scythe that apparently Death was foolish enough to lose to a human. It's probably someone in the House of D. and you need to somehow get it back without him knowing."

"Speaking of which," Gregor cut in. "What was going on with this Joining Ceremony? Was that really Henry?"

"Ahh that." Ripred chuckled as he crossed scratched his head. "Guess you haven't heard the news. You know, you're not the first to come back to life. About a year ago, Henry came marching in here with tons of these people who were supposed to be dead. Of course, we were suspicious at first and kept a close eye on all the people, but they didn't try anything stupid. They eventually called themselves the 'House of D'."

"Yeah I got that much. But is Henry their boss or something?" Gregor cocked his head.

"I don't think so. He is in a higher position than the rest, but he is not the leader of the House."

"Then who is?"

"We don't know." Luxa's voice cut in. "But Henry constantly told us that his leader was extremely dangerous and that only a Joining Ceremony could prevent any conflicts between us."

"Wait, why would the House of D attack you? Aren't they happy to see their friends and family again?" Gregor inquired.

"Apparently, their leader can control them against their will." Ripred sighed. "It's a real pain. We've seen it happen several times before. Their eyes turn red and they act like… oh what's the word?" he muttered. "Zombies? Oh whatever. Anyhow, an engagement with them may prove to be quite difficult, so the leader offered us a truce with this ceremony."

"And you went along with it?" Gregor couldn't help but lash out. "Didn't you try to find another way to maintain some sort of agreement?"

"Of course!" Luxa cried out suddenly. "But Henry said his leader was going to make a move soon if we didn't do anything! Regalia's people were in danger and I was responsible! And… and…" she looked down. "You weren't here." She muttered. A very awkward silence passed before Ripred snorted in amusement.

"If you two are done with your drama, I say we move along. We don't have all the time in the world, you know?"

"Right…" Gregor cleared his throat. "So we need a plan, right? Let's make one right now." He was still a little dazed at Luxa's outburst.

"Hold on, boy." Ripred stopped him. "There's something about this whole thing that bothers me. I don't think this is just a snatch and grab mission. Death could have chosen anyone for this job. So why pick you for this mission? What does he want from you?"

Gregor froze. Could Ripred be right? Was Death using him for something else?

"I…I don't know." Gregor stared at the ground for a moment. "But I think our only option now is to play along." Gregor looked up. "But we have no other options, do we?"

"No. We don't. Well, I guess you're right." Ripred chuckled in, if possible, annoyance. "But this time, we plan together, got that boy?" Gregor nodded and Ripred turned to Luxa. "You too, your Majesty. You're in this whether you like it or not. But we all know that you actually like this, so come along." Ripred gestured. Luxa turned scarlet as she quickly turned towards them.

"I am only participating for the well-being of the Underland." She huffed as she trudged over to where they were standing. "Nothing more."

"According to scans of her heart rate and levels of perspiration," Leonardo observed. "She is lying. My databases suggest that the true reason of her participation is her being able to be close to Gre-" Luxa punched Gregor's bracelet.

"OWWW!" Leonardo screamed.

"I…I'm not thinking about him at all." She fumed at Leonardo. "Not in the least!"

"Sure you're not." Ripred scoffed before gathering them closer. "Alright, so first things first…"

* * *

"This is the stupidest plan I've ever been a part of." Gregor muttered.

"Shut up. You didn't have any other ideas." Ripred scowled back.

"Yeah, I did. You just didn't like any of them."

"To me, that is the equivalent as not having any other ideas, 'Jack'." Ripred chuckled.

Gregor groaned. "Why do I have to use that name again?"

"It's part of the plan. Do not question it." Luxa tried hard not to smile.

So here they were: all three of them on their way back to Regalia. With Gregor's armor off, their cover story would be that the "mysterious black-armored rebel" managed to subdue Ripred and tried to drag Luxa away when "Jack", who is actually Gregor, came in and managed to fight off the rebel in some miraculous manner without the use of a weapon. When Ripred and Luxa came to, they noticed he was marked by Death, so they decided to bring him back to the House of D.

"I do not have a good feeling about this plan." Leonardo muttered softly. "It seems like it will take too much time to find anything with the positions we will be in."

"Oh shut up already." Ripred groaned. "We have the queen, her bond, and a highly-skilled fighter who is bound to leap through the ranks of many soldiers in the House of D. At least one of us is bound to be able to do something."

"Yes, but there is no guarantee that such high positions will yield any results or leads." Leonardo grunted.

"I'm with you, Leo." Gregor sighed. "But looks like we got no choice on this one."

"Hush." Luxa murmured. We're here."

After several hours of painful walking, they finally found themselves at the gates of Regalia. As they approached, Gregor could hear the shock and surprise on all the guards near the gate.

"Your Majesty!" Gregor heard cries from the guards. "She's safe!"

"Somebody get Vikus!" another one called.

"What? Impossible!"

"All hail the Queen!"

"Oh bother." Ripred scoffed. "Don't just stand there!" he yelled up at the guards. "Let us in!"

"Yes! Right away, Ripred!" a guard rushed to the gate.

The gate creaked open and the group stepped through. The guards were cheering and celebrating and pretty soon, news of the Queen's return spread. Crowds of people came rushing to the gate with happy faces, cheering alongside the guards. Luxa smiled and waved at the crowds, occasionally touching one or two hands in the crowd before resuming her waving. Gregor couldn't help but smile. It sort of felt nostalgic, watching Luxa do her thing for the public again. Ripred merely nodded at all the attention he was getting. Gregor awkwardly stood there with his head looking downwards. When he looked up for a moment, he spotted someone running up quite quickly through the crowd.

"Luxa!" It was Vikus. "Luxa! There you are!" He rushed towards her and gave her a big hug. "Oh my…! I… I was so worried! I am sorry. I am a failure as your grandfather…" he stopped to wheeze.

"Stop, stop." Luxa rubbed Vikus' back. "You did everything you could. It is alright." All Vikus could do was nod as his eyes started to water.

"I am just so glad…" he whispered.

"As am I!" a voice bellowed above all the voices of the crowd. The crowd quieted to a soft murmur as they parted for a figure strutting through. It was suddenly deathly quiet as Gregor could recognize the figure as Henry. That walked up towards Luxa. "I am so relieved you have found your way back, your Majesty! We have sent many search parties for you, hoping you would be found, but here you are! Coming back all by yourself." He kneeled before her. "And now, we can finally resume our ceremony now, can we not?" he grinned.

Gregor grimaced and was itching to turn his bracelet, but Leonardo scolded him in his mind.

"Oh no you don't." Leonardo muttered. "Your chances of survival would be _very _slim." He urged. Gregor groaned, but reluctantly kept still.

Luxa's face was emotionless. She bit her lip and looked down. Apparently she had forgotten about the Joining Ceremony. She opened her mouth to say something, but then a voice cut in before she could utter a single word.

"Since her Majesty has been through a lot, I suggest we postpone the ceremony until later."

Henry turned towards Gregor.

"Is that so?" he bore his eyes into Gregor's. "And who, exactly, are you?" he strode up to Gregor, head lifted high.

Gregor suddenly realized he was the one who spoke up. Oh great. Well this was awkward. He could hear Luxa face palming herself in the background.

"His name is Jack." Ripred stepped in. "He saved our hides, so I think you should treat him with more respect, boy." He jabbed Henry with his tail. "Managed to fight off that dark-armored man who took us away."

"Is that so?" Henry now looked at Gregor with keen interest. "I'm sorry. You look like someone I knew in the past…" he narrowed his eyes. "The similarity is uncanny."

"Yeah? Well good for you." Ripred rolled his eyes. "Anyway, he bears the mark of Death, so take him to the House of D. Looks like he got lost out there." He shoved Gregor towards Henry. "Also, I agree with what Jack said. Luxa's been through a lot, so she will need to recuperate before proceeding with the ceremony."

"Yes, I am in agreement with this as well." Vikus cleared his throat. "We will arrange the ceremony for another time soon, I assure you." He promised Henry.

The crowd murmured in surprise and confusion while Henry seemed to grow restless. It was a tense moment, and Henry looked like he would explode out of anger. After a long moment, Henry turned away from the crowd and sighed.

"Very well!" Henry growled reluctantly before turning to Gregor and lifting a finger at him. "Come with me. You're coming to the House of D."

* * *

"Sir!" a guard called out. "Sir, there are two people here to join the House of D!" he announced as his footsteps resonated throughout the room. The dark room was surrounded by torches producing a harsh, black light and was decorated with rocks that shined with smoke. In the center stood several tall thrones that seemed to loom threateningly over the guard. A shadowy man on the tallest throne grunted as he turned to look at the man.

"Is that so?" his voice boomed around the room. "Interesting. I was not aware we had more marked people out there besides us."

"I believed the same, milord. But they have the mark of Death like the rest of us. Maybe they're from another Death colony?"

"That's highly improbable." The figure rose from the throne. "But possible. This is not the only time Death has lost track of his prisoners." He chuckled. "Very well. Bring them in here."

"Yes, sir!" the guard saluted before rushing out of the room.

After the guard left, the mysterious man held out his hand and smoke billowed from it like clouds in the night time. When it cleared, a huge, wicked scythe glinted back into the eyes of the shadowy man.

"Just, what are you up to, old friend?" he murmured.

* * *

**AN: Oh gosh it's been a while. Please don't hate me guys :3. I was trying to get this done as fast as I could. But with SATs and finals and all this other crap I'm going to use as excuses came up, so please forgive me for the longggg delay. Anyway, I hope this doesn't seem too lacking... I have to admit I was rushing on this because of the long delay. But anyway. I've been surprised by the amount of reviews I've been getting! I have to thank all of you who actually took the time to do it. And like I've been saying, it's really been encouraging :)) Keep it up!**


	8. Death's Genesis

**Chapter 8**  
Death's Genesis

* * *

"So…What exactly does the House of D do?" Gregor stumbled through the crowds of people, trying to keep up with Henry. Henry turned to look at him with contempt and scoffed.

"What do you mean by 'do'?" he seemed to scowl at Gregor. "We simply reside here in the area of Regalia. We seek prosperity and wish to thrive successfully alongside Regalia. Is that not enough?"

"Uh… sorry?" Gregor gritted his teeth. This brat was really starting to get on his nerves. He was just asking a question. Yeesh.

"_Hot headed, isn't he_?" Leo murmured in Gregor's mind.

"_Well we did just spoil his wedding._" Gregor smirked back in his head.

"We take in all sorts of people who have been raised from the grave, as it were. Our leader brought a majority of us back from death. Others simply come here coincidentally by escaping on their own or by other means." Henry went on. "Of course, you must be one of these 'others', correct?"

"What? Oh… oh yeah." Gregor nodded frantically. "I was like you guys. I managed to escape Death's prisons and somehow made my way here." Gregor held his breath, hoping Henry wouldn't question the story. Thankfully, Henry didn't seem to care.

"Yes…yes. Wonderful." Henry grumbled before turning away. "Jack, we will travel the rest of the way to the House by my flier. Have you flown on a flier before?"

"Uhhm. No. What's a flier?" Gregor decided to play dumb. Henry sighed in over exaggerated annoyance.

"How ignorant." Henry put his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. No longer than two seconds passed when a huge shadow emerged over them. "This," Henry smiled cockily. "This is a flier." With a loud _thump_ the bat lowered itself to the ground in front of Henry in a bowing stance. Gregor couldn't help but feel angry. Had Henry made it a daily thing to make his bond bow to him? Bonds were supposed to be equal! Not slaves!

"We are heading back home." Henry sniffed as he hopped on. "So make it quick."

"Yes, Lord Henry." The bat replied back humbly. He bowed once more and suddenly turned his head towards Gregor. They stared at each other for a moment. Something tugged at his heart, and he had a terrible feeling of dread. It couldn't be…

"Well?" Henry broke the moment. "Come along!" he stretched out his hand.

Gregor reluctantly grabbed ahold of it and pulled himself onto the bat.

"Your bat have a name?" Gregor tentatively asked. He had to know if his intuition was right.

"What does that matter to you?" Henry glanced at Gregor suspiciously.

"Huh? Nothing. I just heard that the bats were named after Greek heroes or something…" Gregor trailed off, trying to act innocent.

"Bah. Greek Heroes." Henry scorned. "I was forced to study those when I was younger. But yes, they are named so. Mine is named after a great God!" he flashed a smile. "Quite fitting for a person of my skills."

Gregor felt like his lips were made of sawdust. It couldn't be him. It couldn't. Couldn't couldn't couldn't couldn't couldn't.

"So…" Gregor licked his lips. "Your bat is named…?"

"Ares. The Great God of War." Henry smirked.

* * *

"Tell me why we came here again?" Rachel muttered as the guard led her and Matt down a corridor.

"We went over this at the gate already." Matt groaned. "Death dude said Gregor was gonna show up here. Remember he said joining this House would be the best way we could meet up with him?"

"Yeah, but we don't know anything about this place other than it's for dead people!" she looked around nervously. "And besides, why do we have these weapons? We can't even fight!" She twiddled with her bow.

"We're dead too, you know. Calm down." Matt chuckled. "We'll learn how to fight eventually."

Suddenly, the guard stopped. "Quiet." He hushed. "You are about to enter the Lord's Throne room. Please regain your composure." With that, he took a quick breath and opened the large, iron doors. The doors groaned and creaked as they reluctantly opened for the group.

"Sir! I have brought them, as requested." The guard bowed before quickly leaving the room. As he passed by Rachel and Matt, he muttered, "Good luck. You will need it."

The doors then slammed shut with a loud "_BANG" _as Rachel and Matt stood before a tall, shadowy figure: the leader of the House of D. He looked a bit like Death, in that he had a dark aura around him like Death did; but his face looked more wizened and he was not as well-dressed as Death. The leader stood up and slowly stepped down from his throne towards Matt and Rachel. His boots echoed with every step, making it seem like there were several of him walking towards the duo at once.

"So… you wish to join our House?" he asked slyly as he stood in front of Matt and Rachel while the footsteps died down. He seemed to be sizing them up, scrutinizing their armor and weapons.

"Yes, sir." Matt nodded slowly. "You see, we've heard a lot of good things about this place and we were wondering if-"

"Begin." The leader cut him off with the single word.

"E…excuse me?" Rachel stared in confusion. "Begin what?"

The leader didn't bother to answer. Instead, he rose up a hand and it filled with clouds of darkness. Suddenly, bullets of shadow shot out of the glob and sprayed everywhere, splashing onto the ground. Matt jumped back, yelping, and Rachel scurried over to his side, stifling a shriek. The globs then grew larger and larger, until they started to form the shape of men. Men with weapons. There were seven or eight of them and they all pointed their weapons at the two. Gradually, they started moving closer. Matt drew his katanas and urged Rachel to pull out her bow.

"But I don't know how to use it!" she cried.

"Use your instincts!" he yelled as the warriors started to run at them.

"Begin!" the leader called out once more as he walked calmly back to his throne.

One of the warriors lunged at Matt with a spear. Matt used one his katanas to deflect the spear to the side and kicked the warrior as hard as he could. Could these things even die? He could feel Rachel shaking next to him. At this rate, he would have to fight them all…

"_Eh, not bad."_ A voice appeared in his head. _"But it could've been better."_

Shocked, Matt stumbled back and barely dodged another warrior's swipe.

"_Who…?"_ he asked in his head.

"_The name's Sam. You know, short for samurai?" _the voice chuckled._ "Anyway, Death gave me to you to help you out in situations like these. Oh watch it! One of them is going for you! Dodge to the right and swing your left arm back." _

With no time to think, Matt spun to his right and heard the clank of a sword hitting the ground. Without hesitation, he thrust out his left hand and was surprised to find that he stabbed the attacker in the shoulder. The warrior cried out and fell to the ground before disappearing in a pool of black. Matt blinked in surprise.

"_Uhh thanks."_ Matt thought as he jumped back and stared at his hands.

"_No need to thank me just yet, man. Watch it! Another one's coming!"_ Sam yelled. Matt looked up and saw the blade coming for him. He was too late, he realized, to move in time. He rose up his shoulder and braced for the impact. Suddenly, he heard the whiz of an arrow followed by a cry of pain. Matt looked back and saw an arrow protruding out of the warrior's chest before it too, sank to the ground in blackness. He glanced to his right and saw Rachel holding up her bow, still shaking slightly.

"How did she…?" Matt stared in awe, unable to complete his sentence.

"_Ah, Arja must be helping her." _Sam whistled. _"Arja's known to be really good with teaching archery. That girl is lucky."_

"_I heard that, Sam."_ A female voice reached Matt's ears. _"I'm not just 'really good'. I'm a prodigy and no one is ever good enough for me." _She sniffed._ "Although I must admit the girl is learning quite well."_ She stated as Rachel managed to fly more arrows towards the warriors.

Matt grinned. Looks like they weren't completely out just yet. With a newfound fervor, Matt turned to the rest of the warriors and raised his katanas. Bring them on.

* * *

"Ares…" Gregor whispered. He felt a chill go throughout his body and nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

"Nice name, I must admit." Henry chuckled. "He has been my bond for as long as I can remember." He seemed to be nostalgic. Then his expression turned dark. "Then he betrayed me…" he frowned.

"Betrayed…?" Gregor asked, knowing all too well what had happened that day. He could remember it as clear as day. Both he and Henry were falling to their deaths. Henry's plea for help. Ares' body soaring downwards, reaching Henry, but zipping right past. Slamming into Ares' back while Henry smashed into rocks.

"Yes…" Henry murmured. "He went to that _Overlander_ and let me die. But now, I made sure that the same mistake will not happen again." Henry smirked.

Gregor's eyes widened. Not happen again? What did he do to Ares? Gregor's ears were roaring, and he could feel the rager inside of him thrash. Despite his rage, Gregor managed to appear calm and asked Henry another question.

"How so?"

"My gods, what is with your questions?" Henry groaned. "It is very annoying."

"I was just curious." Gregor replied. "Can you please tell me?" he urged.

"Very well. I hypnotized him." Henry sighed. "The leader of the House of D taught me the basics. Ares still retains his skills and memories, but he will listen to my orders. Mine alone. Are you satisfied?"

Gregor didn't respond. Hypnotized. Of all things. He wanted to reach out to Ares, push Henry off and help his bond flee such a hell. But he could not. And that idea alone Gregor to near madness and insanity. He didn't speak for the rest of the ride to the House of D's palace. How could he? Here he was, thinking about his own selfish desires of wanting to go home as soon as possible when his friends were down here, suffering. He buried his face into his knees. Pathetic. He felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. There would be time for this later.

"Time to go, Jack." He heard Henry call. "We have arrived."

The House of D's palace finally came into view. Unlike Gregor's imagination, it was not dark and gloomy as he pictured. It actually looked very similar to Regalia. Stone houses scattered across the area and a huge wall surrounded the palace area. A river streamed through the city and tons of people surrounded it. Other areas were still in construction, but it was more or less completed.

"Imagine, four years ago, this place was nothing." Henry smiled in pride. "Now, we are quite prosperous." He grunted as he dismounted.

The two of them went through several gates and many guards and people bowed slightly before Henry as they passed until they reached the palace.

"You are going to be here now, so I will now direct you to the training classes." Henry said.

"What? Training courses? For what?" Gregor jogged up to Henry.

"Combat, mostly. You may also learn some skills of the Dead like I have." Henry sniffed. "Although it is doubtful you are skilled enough to utilize such skills. So far, only the leader and I have been able to use such powers."

"I… see." Gregor murmured. Great. School. Just when he thought that he was free from school's torturous classes.

"But first, we must meet with the leader for your placement exam." Henry grinned condescendingly. "Good luck." He smirked.

"What? What do I do for the exam?" Gregor asked.

They stood in front of two large, stone doors. From outside, Gregor could hear the faint sound of clangs of swords and yelling.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" Henry chuckled as he pushed the doors open.

* * *

The leader still wasn't done with them even after they defeated all eight of the shadowy warriors. After they managed to defeat the eighth shadow, the leader simply summoned a huge rat who scared the jeepers out of Matt and Rachel.

"Aw you gotta be kidding me!" Matt cried when he saw it. Rachel shrieked and jumped back.

"You are not done." The leader now stared with a newfound interest. "Begin."

The gigantic rat pounced towards Matt and swiped a paw at him. Rachel ran to one side and started to shoot arrows while Matt tried to evade the paw. Rachel's arrows hit target, but the rat didn't seem to notice and continued its assault on Matt. Matt dodged, parried, and occasionally tried attacking, but the rat seemed invincible. Even Sam started to get nervous when his advice didn't do much to help.

_"Interesting… he's big but very fast." Sam observed. "And he's got the power of ten men. Quite problematic."_

"Gee, you think?" Matt yelped as he nimbly dodged a tail whip to the face.

Suddenly, the rat's tail and paw came swinging at the same time. Matt help up his swords to block it. The tail and paw hit the swords, knocking the breath out of Matt."Oof!" he grunted as he was thrown to the floor. Dazed, he managed to get up, but he noticed something that made his heart stop. His hands were suddenly empty. The rat's tail had skittered them across the room. Cursing, Matt glanced at Rachel, who saw what happened and her eyes widened. She was too far away from the weapons. The rat was making another attack. Matt was a goner.

Matt braced himself for the impact when all of the sudden, Matt heard a gurgling scream come from the rat as he heard a _thump_ of something falling to the ground. It was a tail. At the end of it was a figure standing there with Matt's katanas. It was Gregor, and he was looking frighteningly fierce.

The rat immediately turned to see Gregor smirking at him. He roared in rage before charging at him. Gregor rolled to one side and Matt watched in awe as Gregor's face seemed to change. Gregor then jumped towards the rat and started to spin in the air, pointing the katanas outwards. Spinning and spinning and spinning, Gregor backed the rat into the wall until finally; he stopped and swiped his swords at specific points. The neck. The legs. The heart. All of them split open and the rat slumped to the ground then gurgled in blackness.

"Jack!" Henry rushed into the room and pulled Gregor towards him. "What do you think you are doing? You have interrupted an important evaluation! You insolent-"

"That's enough, Henry." The leader stepped down from the throne. "He was here to be evaluated as well, was he not?"

Henry fidgeted and reluctantly pushed Gregor away. "It is as you say."

"Then it is fine." He turned to look at all three of them and stared at them for a long moment.

After a long awkward silence, Henry couldn't take it anymore.

"Well?" He snapped. "Are they in the House or not?" asking the question written on everyone's faces. The leader made a strange snorting noise, making his body tremble all over. Gregor, Matt, and Rachel cocked their heads in slight concern. That is, until the leader threw his head back with a great, loud, laugh. After a few rounds of laughter, he finally managed to calm himself down to a soft chuckle.

"Ah yes, they are all in the House of D. But you are going to be more than just a part of the House of D." he smirked as he trotted back up to his throne.

"What?" Gregor dropped the katanas on the floor with a loud _CLANG. _"What are you talking about?"

The leader sat down and stared at them in the eyes.

"You are all going to be my students."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Luxa's room of Regalia's palace, Vikus, Ripred and Luxa were discussing future events.

"I am sorry, but the council agrees that this is the best course of action!" Vikus cried. "The council did not accept my idea of canceling the ceremony."

"I wonder if they ever accept any ideas you propose." Luxa sighed dejectedly. "Like I said before, I do not approve of this arranged joining. Besides, I am Queen now. They should follow my orders, should they not?"

"Yes, this is true; however it is in your best interest to do things that are best for Regalia." Vikus sighed. "They still believe you to be too young to make rational decisions…"

"Too young?" Luxa growled. "I am not too young, Vikus! I can make rational decisions all the time! So you can go tell the council that _their _decision is not rational. Not on my account."

"Personally, I don't blame the council." Ripred yawned. "Remember when you heard that the Warrior died you made a national rule not to ever speak of him again? Sounds irrational to me."

"Ah yes." Vikus looked thoughtful. "This does account for your refusal to do the ceremony now… you were somewhat more willing to do it before his arrival…"

"Oh hush, Ripred." Luxa flushed. "I was not serious. I was simply upset…"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, making everyone in the room jump.

"Yes?" Luxa huffed in frustration. "Come in!"

A messenger suddenly dashed into the room, panting heavily and looking quite disturbed.

"My queen!" he gasped. "I have dire news."

The look on everyone's faces changed and the atmosphere became serious. Vikus cleared his throat, Luxa's eyes gleamed with worry, and Ripred shifted slightly from his slouching position on his wall. Finally, after the messenger managed to catch his breath, Luxa tentatively reached out to him.

"What is it?" Luxa asked cautiously.

"Uhh well," the messenger twiddled with his fingers. "Firstly, many people have broken the rule of not to speak of the Warrior and-"

At this, Ripred guffawed, cutting off the messenger completely. He laughed so hard he began to roll around on the floor. Even Vikus could not suppress a smile. Luxa glowered at them, and quickly turned to the guard, who stared in utter confusion at the reactions he had caused.

"Is that all?" She cast an annoyed glare at the guard.

"N-no!" the guard flinched. He cleared his throat. "The F-fount's been attacked, my Queen."

Ripred choked and stopped laughing. At the same time, Vikus' face's slowly grew into a worried frown. What? Luxa stood there, staring at the guard, not comprehending what she just heard.

"What..? The Fount is under attack? By who?" Vikus hurried up to the messenger, clearly worried. "There should be no conflict with any creature at this point. We made sure of that."

"I am not sure, but the soldiers from the Fount who managed to reach our gates have told us it was… gnawers."

"Impossible." Ripred growled as he came off from his wall. "The gnawers are allied with the humans now. We don't need to or want to attack the Fount."

"Yes, well that is where the other part comes in, see." The messenger looked nervous. "The soldiers from the Fount also claim to have seen…" he stopped, as if deciding whether to tell them or not.

"Spit it out." Ripred snarled, looking absolutely livid. "Why in all of the Underland would gnawers attack the Fount?"

"S-sorry!" the messenger flinched. "They soldiers… they saw…"

"They saw…?" Luxa urged.

The messenger took a deep breath. "King Gorger."

* * *

**AN: Christ I've been gone forever. Sorry again folks. I've been on vacation in Hawaii and there was just so much to do that my story was not a high priority. Also, I've been gone for SAT training classes, since I'm taking it this October. But I managed to think a LOT about the story and how it will turn out. So no worries! I just need the time to write them! Anyway, enjoy and I hope you like how the story is going so far :) Remember to review people! Sometimes when I'm tired from my SAT classes, I just want to slump in my bed and sleep. Reviews really help me get through my sleepiness and encourage me to write more! Thanks **


	9. Death's Contemplation

**Chapter 9**  
Death's Contemplation

* * *

"Eh?" Gregor, Matt, and Rachel turned to look at the leader in utter confusion. "What do you mean by students?" Gregor asked, cautiously stepping forward.

"Yes, what _do_ you mean by 'students', Lord?" Henry quickly stepped in front of Gregor. "Surely you do not mean to teach these-" he flicked an annoyed finger the trio. "Irreverent reprobates our techniques right away do you?"

"Enough, Henry!" the leader snarled. "I do what pleases me, and your attitude is unbecoming as a lord of this House." He glared at Henry. "Go off and supervise the lower recruits and begone!" he ordered.

Henry gritted his teeth and looked like he wanted to say something, but he thought better of it and bowed before sulking off.

"Do not mind him." The leader sighed. "He is most likely angry because he believed he would be my only student." He grumbled. "Such a child." He murmured.

"Uhm, excuse me." Gregor cleared his throat loudly. "Who are you? And why exactly did you choose us as your 'students' anyway? We just arrived here and we haven't done much…" he trailed off as the leader stared at him with a distant look in his eyes. "Erm…" Gregor fidgeted.

"Yes…" the leader sighed. "Very well. I am Lord Headwind – Leader of the House of D." he bowed slightly. "As for the reason of making you my students," he continued. "You three are very unique, I must say. You radiate with power and are skillful to some degree in combat. However." He raised a finger. "You all are still fledglings when it comes to controlling your power. I will help you control that power." He smiled. "Oh yes, I must ask that you introduce yourselves." He leaned forwards in keen interest.

"Gre-Jack" Gregor almost smacked himself. He almost forgot his name! Gregor looked to his left in embarrassment at the two black-armored figures. Now that he thought about it, he realized, they haven't said a single word since he arrived. Who were they? They seemed tense and looked like they were struggling for some reason. One of them had picked up the katanas and placed them on their back while the other twiddled with their bow. He was about to nudge them a little when Leonardo murmured in his mind.

"_Do not respond to what they say." _Gregor heard him whisper quietly. Gregor raised an eyebrow. What did that mean?

"_Trust me. Don't react." _Leonardo repeated before one of the armored figures raised the head.

"I'm…Matt." One of them finally stated. Gregor's eyes nearly fell out of his head. Matt? Matt was here? Gregor wanted to turn and thrust the helmet off the figures to be certain, but he bit his tongue and took Leo's advice. His mind raced. Then did that mean the other one… Gregor quickly glanced at the figure next to Matt. No way…

"Rachel." The other figure stated confidently as she turned her helmet towards Gregor. Gregor flinched and practically fell to his knees. This couldn't be happening. They shouldn't be here.

"I see." Lord Headwind nodded in approval. "Strange names, I must say, but I will not linger on that. I will have someone send you to your rooms. I will call for you when I am ready to train you."

"Why would we need to?" Gregor found himself asking. "Isn't everything here at peace? From what I hear, there isn't any need to learn any combative skills."

Headwind stared at Gregor in surprise. "Oh we do need to prepare, though the Regalians may not know it." He grimaced. "Fools. I cannot trust them until they complete the Joining Ceremony but they just had to slip up…" he grumbled.

"What…what are you talking about?" Gregor asked, suddenly very urgent.

"Death." Headwind's eyes darkened. "My mortal enemy. The one who imprisoned me for many many years unjustly. I managed to escape that traitor along with some of his prisoners. He left us alone for a while, but now…" he frowned. "I believe he is trying to catch me once more. HAH!" he cackled. "As if I'll let that happen."

"Excuse me, but about the Joining Ceremony," Gregor suddenly piped up. "Why does the House of D need one with Regalia anyway? Aren't you guys already on good terms?"

"Hmph. If their queen becomes a part of the House of D in this ceremony, I can be ensured there will be no treacherous acts from Regalia. I can always invade and forcefully add Regalia as a last resort," Headwind yawned. "But that requires time and resources I do not wish to waste."

"But why Henry?" Gregor blurted. Suddenly, he realized the implications of his question and started to become red in the face. Oh bother.

"Hmmm?" Headwind turned a very curious eye in his direction and stared at the teen's beat red face. "Caught your fancy, has she?" he watched in somewhat amusement. "I see that same look on Henry's face as well."

Rachel made a sort of grumbling sound of complaint but Matt quickly nudged her to quiet down.

"Isn't that kind of…wrong?" Gregor shifted his weight from one foot to another. "They're cousins, aren't they?"

"And what is wrong with that?" Headwind sighed. "The Overland allowed cousins to marry at some point or another. Why not us?"

Gregor said nothing and kept his scarlet face facing the floor.

"If you really want I can arrange a competition for her hand." Headwind chuckled. Gregor looked up in surprise and was about to ask more, but Headwind waved a hand to cue for silence.

"Enough! I tire of all this talk. Go rest up. Your examination today is only a little taste of what you will experience in the future." He motioned a servant over. "Lead these three to their rooms, if you please."

"Yes, Lord." The servant bowed and led the trio out of the large doors. Headwind smiled as they left, with the doors closing with a large bang as it resonated throughout the room like a tunnel of eternal oblivion.

* * *

"The Queen is here with reinforcements!" a soldier cried out as a golden bat flew into the area with many others trailing behind. Together, they looked like a swarm of locusts, ready to invade any enemy prowling outside their territory.

"Lead Aurora over here! Quickly!" A big man called out. The solider complied and waved his hands frantically to the golden bat, who was now hovering above them.

Aurora landed smoothly and Luxa quickly hopped off with Ripred. They sprinted over to the big man, the rest of their reinforcements following suit.

"What's going on here, York?" Luxa demanded. "How is the Fount under attack?" she asked as she approached the big man. York. The man in charge at the Fount.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Luxa." York growled. "Shadowy gnawers appeared everywhere in the towns attacking the people. Some of my scouts even saw King Gorger trampling this place up."

"Yes I heard." Luxa's eyes narrowed. "How is his return even possible?" she pondered aloud.

"I do not really know. Many of the dead are returning for us... I fear for the worst." he sighed. "Fortunately, they have retreated for now, so we can have a bit of time to prepare." York went on. "King Gorger's forces have wounded many of our men. Luckily, none are dead yet. The gnawers' initial attack force was quite small."

"Bah. King Gorger. A wee gnawer with big words, nothing more." Ripred scoffed as he flicked his tail in annoyance.

"I wouldn't say that. He seems to be much stronger than before… he has managed to push us back more than once so far." York said gravely, making Ripred snort in incredulous disbelief. York ignored him.

"How are the wounded? Do they have any abnormalities after engaging these...gnawers?" Luxa asked.

"Not many casualties and there is nothing out of the ordinary yet." York scratched his head. "Howard arrived a few moments before you did and is tending to the wounded."

"Very well." Luxa's face was terse as she calculated the strategies she envisioned in her mind. A frontal assault. A sneaky flank attack. A prolonged entrenchment tactic. Air bombardment. After a moment of silence, she came up with a plan. "Tell your men to keep their positions while we flank them from the left side." Luxa hopped back on Aurora. "Lead your force to the front and give us the signal to attack when you are ready."

"Will do, Luxa." York nodded in approval and was leaving when he muttered something. "Man," he grumbled. "We could really be using the Warrior right about now…" Suddenly, all of Luxa's soldiers surrounded York and immediately pointed their weapons at York within moments.

"Hmm?" York barely flinched. "What did I do?" he looked around, not at all intimidated. Luxa groaned in embarrassment. She called off the soldiers and with a gleam of utter hatred in her eyes, ordered them to get back on their fliers in a fit of rage.

This was too much for Ripred. He rolled off of Aurora and started to roll on the ground in peals of laughter, earning him a very much earned smack from Luxa before they lifted off with the rest of reinforcements.

* * *

The servant led Gregor, Matt, and Rachel to another stone building. It was tall and it was about the size of a regular house. They went inside and were surprised by its coziness. There were three rooms that were more than enough room for the trio, a living room, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. It was like a large home.

"This is where you three shall be staying in the House of D. If you need any assistance, please inform us." the servant smiled and bowed before leaving them alone. Gregor nodded curtly and slowly turned to face the two armored figures. His friends. His best friends.

It was silent for a moment. The three of them didn't seem to know how to overcome the awkwardness they were at. So the three of them just stood there. In the doorway. Not moving. Not talking. It seemed like time was frozen and refused to budge. After a long, intense silence, Gregor turned to them and scratched the back of his head. Might as well try, right?

"So uh… longtime no see huh?" he quickly asked. He tried to smile, but he found that he couldn't. His face was too stiff. Suddenly, his whole world started to spin. His face stung as he fell to the floor with a surprised huff. His ears roared and his eyes looked around frantically. He was just punched. Matt just punched him.

"What the hell-" he stared in astonishment at Matt, who was panting heavily and deeply. He seemed furious.

"Matt!" Rachel gasped. She tore off her helmet and slammed it on the ground. "What are you _doing?_" she cried. She rushed over the Gregor's side and helped him up. "Are you crazy? He's our friend!"

"He…" he gritted his teeth. "Freakin… you made Rachel cry. Hell, _I _cried for you. And here you are, prancing about like nothing ever happened!" he growled. "Your family… they were so… I can't…" Matt couldn't speak for a moment, lost for words. Finally, with a deep breath, he mustered up the rest of his strength and yelled. "Why did you have to DIE?" he ripped off his helmet and sank to his knees. He trembled slightly, and Gregor could tell he was on the verge of losing it.

Rachel stared at him. She had never seen him so emotional because he was always the strong one. He was always the one who made sure that she was happy even though Gregor wasn't around. He shouldn't be the one to be upset. It should be her. Yet here he was, taking it in for her. Rachel's eyesight began to blur and she blinked in surprise. She shook her head and wiped her eyes quickly. Matt needed support. She walked over to Matt's side and hugged him.

"Everything will be fine, alrighty?" she smiled at him with the warmest smile she could.

Matt didn't respond, but his shoulders seemed to relax at the sound of Rachel's voice and her touch.

"Hey…" Gregor sat down in front of Matt as he gingerly laid a hand on his shoulder. "I…I'm sorry." He looked away. "Me dying and all… it…was sort of my fault. It was stupid, I know… But I'm going to fix it. I swear. We made a deal with Death and we're gonna keep it. Then we're all going back home, alright?" he held out his hand to Matt.

Matt didn't react for a long time. Then, he slowly picked himself off the ground and looked into Gregor's eyes and stared for a moment, as if seeing if Gregor was telling the truth or not. Finally, Matt sighed and pulled a small smile as he grabbed Gregor's hand. Rachel smiled approvingly and sighed in relief. They were all back together again.

"Eh." Matt coughed and looked away quickly. "No need for the heroic speech, Gregs. Punching you in the face is all I needed." He coughed again sheepishly. "Sorry about that by the way."

"No problem." Gregor grimaced as he tenderly rubbed the bruise. "Nice punch. No wonder Headwind liked you." He flashed a grin. Matt groaned as he buried his face in his hands, evidently embarrassed.

"So how about a group hug?" Rachel laughed. Matt and Gregor looked at her like she just asked them to jump off the Empire State Building to fly.

"What?" she pouted. "We should. We haven't seen each other in forever."

Gregor and Matt looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Matt shrugged and threw one arm around Rachel, dangling his other arm out to Gregor. Rachel imitated Matt, laughing. Gregor groaned in comical annoyance but he ambled over to them and wrapped his arms around them. It was awkward, but it was satisfying. After a while, Matt shifted in embarrassment.

"Uh, okay. I think that's enough." He pulled back, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, right." Gregor cleared his throat. "So I'm guessing you guys made a deal with Death too, right?" He quickly tried to change the subject. "The armor and the mark on your guys' faces…" he trailed off as he suddenly came to a realization. "Wait, don't tell me…"

"Yep." Rachel looked down. "We died."

"What?" Gregor was shocked. "Tell me everything." He demanded.

After Rachel and Matt reverted their armors into bracelets, they caught up with Gregor on their adventures. Gregor's absence in the Overland, Rachel and Matt's deaths, Gregor's adventure to the House of D (leaving out the moment he had with Luxa, of course. Gregor still blushed at the thought of it.), and about the "plan" he had with Ripred and Luxa to find the scythe. Of course, he had to explain the whole lore of the Underland, which took a lot longer than he expected.

"Wow," Rachel's mouth was agape. "No wonder you killed those shadow things so well. You've been doing stuff like this for a long time…" she quickly blushed. "N-not that I think that's weird or anything…" she stammered.

"I'm more surprised by the fact the people haven't recognized you yet." Matt snorted.

"Well, the people I'm close to have. Henry and a lot of other people just think it's a coincidence." Gregor laughed. "Sort of a mess I'm in. Anyway, we should talk about our deal with Death, right?"

"Right, about this scythe." Matt stood up. "I think I know where it is. I bet that the HeadyWindow guy has it. I mean, he's the leader of the House of D. He's bound to have it, right?"

"It's Headwind, Matt." Rachel rolled her eyes. "But we didn't see him holding it. I don't think it's him… right?"

"No, it is most likely him." Sam's voice called out from Matt's bracelet. "I could feel a great source of Death's power radiating from him."

"Woah!" Gregor stared at the bracelet in surprise. "You guys have voice friends too, huh?" he grinned.

"EXCUSE ME?" Arja gasped in outrage from Rachel's arm. "_VOICE FRIENDS?_ That's an insult!" she protested. "Call us 'your saviors' or 'your superiors'. NOT VOICE FRIENDS." She spat out the word like it was a disease. The trio couldn't help but roll their eyes and smile at her outrage.

"Oh shush, Voice Friend." Leonardo now joined them and sounded more annoyed than amused. "I concur with Sam. Lord Headwind did have an aura very similar to that of the scythe. For now, let's assume he does have it. Now we just need to know how to get it…"

"Old-fashioned way." Sam piped up excitedly. "Get in there, knock some skulls, snatch it, and then make it back here for TOUCHDOWN." He hooted.

"That's not happening, you imbecile." Arja groaned. "So incompetent. He probably keeps the scythe somewhere beyond our reach. After all, it's the one thing that's keeping him and his oh-so-wonderful House of D here."

"Where would he keep it? A safe or something?" Matt frowned.

"Does this place even _use _safes?" Rachel wondered aloud.

Gregor chuckled and was about to respond when a small scuffling noise was heard by the door. The three members quickly spun their heads to the sound. Suddenly, Henry burst into their room and looked around frantically. To Gregor's surprise, he was clad in a complete armor set with deadly looking weapons decorating his back and his belt. When he spotted the trio, he quickly pointed a stern finger at them. Gregor's heart nearly stopped. Was he eavesdropping? How much did he hear? Gregor's mind raced as he tried to think of any excuse that would save them. None came. When Henry opened his mouth, he braced himself for the tirade that was going to come... but it never came. Instead, Gregor was greeted with some odd news.

"Gear up!" he yelled as he looked back quickly. "You three. Follow me to the armory and get some proper armor and weapons!" He instructed before scrambling out the door.

Gregor, Matt, and Rachel all looked at each other in confusion, still trying to process what Henry just said. Finally, when their brains processed the lump of instructions they were given, Gregor dashed out the door after Henry. He caught up to him in no time, much to Henry's irritation.

"Henry wait!" he called out. "What's going on? Why do we need to get weapons and armor?"

"Why do you think?" Henry looked back briefly and gave Gregor a condescending stare. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK, you fool! Headwind says to get you and your friends off your lazy bottoms and follow me!"

"Who's attacking us?" Matt asked, keeping a steady pace alongside Henry.

Henry didn't respond. He was breathing through his nose and seemed to be thinking furiously as masses of soldiers were running in many different directions, giving orders. He slowed down and stopped next to a general who was ordering soldiers into the armory.

"Get these recruits into the armory for a quick armor and weapons gear up." Henry ordered the general as he pushed the trio towards him. "As soon as you are finished, send them to me." He added before dashing off towards the front gate.

The general saluted and began to usher the trio into the armory. "Get in, we do not have much time." He urged. Gregor and Rachel began to move inside when Matt's voice rose.

"Wait!" Matt didn't budge. "Who is attacking us?" Matt demanded.

The general frowned in impatience, but Matt still didn't move. Finally, the general groaned in annoyance. "Very well, you stubborn mule." He growled as Matt merely continued to stare at him.

"It is Death. Death is attacking us. Now get into the armory."

* * *

**AN: Ahhhhh well that was a somewhat satisfying chapter if I do say so myself... if you agree, disagree, or just want to comment, then please by all means REVIEW! :) As always, they are all greatly appreciated (unless they are...not so nice). I've recently began to worry about my pacing here. Am I developing this too fast? Too slow? Just right? Please tell me! I need all the help I can get so I can make this ride AWESOMER (yes, I know that is not a word) for all you guys out there reading this fanfiction. SAT's are coming up and I am studying my butt off... sorry if my writing speed isn't as fast as you guys would like it to be... anyway I'm done rambling. Hope you enjoyed the story and I'll see you guys next time!**

**PS: (I'm not done rambling xD) Suggestions for story development are also welcome. I will take suggestions into consideration as I continue to consolidate the plot. Peace! :)**

**PSS: (WOW still not done ;;) I'm planning a rewrite of the first several chapters as I have found them... inadequate compared to my later chapters. Chapter 1 rewrite is done, so please take a look at it if you want! **


	10. Death's Moribund Assault

**Chapter 10**  
Death's Moribund Assault

* * *

"What?" Gregor stared wide-eyed at the general, who was now quickly ushering the trio into the armory. "What do you mean 'Death is attacking'?" he asked as he struggled against the general's attempts to move him.

"What I just said! Death is attacking!" the general groaned. "Look, what does it matter who is attacking us? We are still under attack. So get your armor and move!" he ordered threateningly.

"It's alright, yeesh." Matt rolled his eyes. "We have our own armor. Much more stylish than the ones you're wearing anyway." He scoffed as he twisted Sam, initiating his armor sequence. The general raised an eyebrow in evident surprise, but other than that, he did not seem impressed.

"Ah, yes. Lord Henry did mention that." The general sniffed. "But he has insisted on requiring you all to use the armor made by the House of D instead of your own."

"What? Why?" Rachel looked up at the general in confusion. "What difference does it make? Our armor might actually be better than yours in terms of-"

"Enough!" the general shouted. "Do not question orders. You may be students of High Lord Headwind, but you hold no authority just because you have obtained such positions." He growled.

Gregor blinked in surprise. News apparently spread quite fast in the House of D. He could hear something in the general's voice, but he couldn't quite place it. Was it grudging respect? Jealousy? Condescension? Maybe all three. He was about to comment further when he heard Leonardo gently nudging his mind.

"_It is probably best for you to do this, anyway." _Leonardo muttered in his mind. "_After all, the House of D will probably recognize your armor from the Joining Ceremony, no?"_

Gregor did a double take. That's right! If he initiated his armor and weapons here, Henry could recognize him as the perpetrator of the wedding crashing. He had completely forgotten about that. If Leonardo wasn't here… Gregor shuddered. He didn't even want to think about it.

"_Thanks." _Gregor quickly answered Leonardo before nodding to the general.

"Alright then. Let's just go in, guys. We can talk about this later." He motioned to Matt and Rachel, who seemed quite riled up enough to start an argument. But when they saw Gregor's serious face, they reluctantly slowly followed Gregor into the armory, but not before pulling faces at the general's back when he wasn't looking. Gregor chuckled in amusement softly and headed in.

The armory, despite all the chaos going around with soldiers frantically reaching for their things, was quite neat and organized. Instead of being the dreary, castle-like building Gregor thought it would be, it was a nicely decorated hall. On the sides of the hall were several racks of various weapons. Spears, bows, hammers, and various swords hung from them, glinting in anticipation. While the trio could tell that these weapons were certainly not as good as the ones given to them by Death, they couldn't help but admire them.

"Man, would you look at this..." Matt breathed. He turned and walked up to a rack holding katanas.

"Yeah, really. It's better than I thought." Gregor gazed around the hall, taking in the various weapons.

"_Eh, not really my type. But they're okay."_ Sam smirked while Matt continued looking around the rack.

"They even got stuff for me." Rachel looked around in amazement and approached the bow's section, examining them carefully.

"_Oh no, I do not think so." _Arja exclaimed as Rachel seemed dazzled by one of the bows. "_Have you SEEN the horrid quality of these?"_

"Do not touch the weapons unless we have chosen them for you." The general scolded Matt, who was inches away from pulling a sword off the rack. He frowned stubbornly, but he let his hand drop to his side as the general led them further down the hall. The general was still stolid, but he seemed somewhat pleased that the trio found the place interesting. As they walked down the hall, Matt pulled Gregor and Rachel together and whispered urgently.

"Anyone have any idea why the _hell _Death is attacking us?" he murmured, quickly glancing at the general walking ahead of them. Luckily, the general didn't seem to pay them any attention.

"Well he couldn't be attacking us, right? I mean, I thought we were his last hope for maintaining power." Gregor scrunched his eyes together in fierce thought. "Why would he attack the people he sent to help him?"

"Maybe that's it." Rachel suddenly piped up. "Maybe since he's losing control, more and more dead creatures are leaving Death?"

"_That is certainly a possibility. Death has not responded to any messages I have sent him so far." _Leonardo resonated.

"Okay, maybe that's it." Gregor shrugged. "But then why would they attack the House of D? I mean, wouldn't that mean they're on the side of the House?"

"_They have to be a group that has a very strong leader. I doubt many dead humans are in this assault, since Headwind was the only strong leader who could lead the humans out. It must be some other group of creatures with a fierce leader" _Arja pondered._ "Perhaps the gnawers are the ones who have escaped this time. Or maybe some cutters." _

"Wait, so you're telling me that if other things like us humans die, they can't escape Death like these other creatures have unless they have a leader?" Gregor looked perplexed.

"_Precisely." _Leonardo answered. "_This is why casualties still matters for you humans. And if you have escaped Death once, you cannot do so again. If Headwind were to die again, he would fall into oblivion since he has broken Death's laws."_

"What is oblivion, anyway?" Gregor inquired.

"_You cease to exist. Even memories of you from other people will no longer exist. It will be as if you never even came into life itself."_

"Well that's just great." Matt groaned as Sam relayed what Leo just said to him.

"Who is Headwind exactly?" Rachel asked suddenly. "I mean, if he was able to lead the humans out, then he must've been a strong leader in the past, right?"

"_Did Death not tell you?" _Leonardo asked in surprise.

"No. And I'm starting to believe he doesn't tell us anything important." Gregor rolled his eyes.

Gregor was about to pester Leo to tell them who Headwind was when the general in front of them stopped in front of them and opened an iron door.

"Alright, here is the armor room. Hurry up and get in there and get your armor ready." He grunted as he turned and started walking back the way they came. "When you are finished, meet me at the front gate and await orders."

"Roger that, Captain Obnoxious." Matt muttered under his breath as they walked through the door.

* * *

It was quiet and nothing seemed to move. It was as if time had stopped. If one were to examine the situation at the Fount based on sound, they would say that either it was at peacetime or that everyone was dead. At the gate of the Fount, York stood in front of his army on his flier, searching for the smallest sign of an attack. The soldiers behind him gripped their weapons tightly, making sure not to make much movement. Then, in the distance, a flier came zipping back towards York.

"They are coming!" the scout on top of the flier shouted before landing next to York. York nodded and quickly raised his fist to notify the other soldiers. They grunted in anticipation and waited. Soon everything would give in to chaos. Soon things like discomforts and nervousness would be obsolete. They tensed, bracing for the arrival.

They didn't have to wait long.

After a long, agonizing moment of silence, they heard a rumble. It started out very quietly, like a low hum, but gradually, it grew louder and louder until it became deafening. Soldiers started to grit their teeth and some tried to cover their ears. Suddenly, a horde of gnawers appeared in the distance. King Gorger, who was wailing the loudest, paused for a moment. Then, without warning, he uttered a roar and charged down the hill towards the Fount. York, grimacing from the terrible cacophony, quickly pulled out his sword and raised it high in the air.

Immediately, three fliers rose in the air and flew high in the sky and soared towards the group of gnawers. Their riders threw multiple torches into the air while their fliers dropped buckets of oil on the ground below. The soft thump of the torches landing on the ground was soon followed by cries of dissolving black gnawers and the crackles of fire; however, this did little to faze the gnawers and the intimidating line of gnawers continued to march towards the Fount with Gorger still roaring.

Elsewhere, Luxa, Ripred, and the rest of the Regalian army stood in wait, searching for the signal York promised them. Luxa then noticed the bright light of the fire and promptly signaled her army. The fire was there. That was the signal. Multitudes of fliers then rose into the air behind Aurora and together, they all flew down towards the black mass.

"Alright, this is it!" York bellowed when he saw Luxa's army starting the assault on the flank. "ATTACK!" he roared as he again thrust his sword in the air and started sprinting towards the mass of gnawers. The soldiers behind him shouted in encouragement and followed without hesitation.

The war began.

Half of the Regalian army, including Luxa and Ripred, landed and joined the frontal assault with York's group while their fliers picked off gnawers by picking them up and dropping them to their demise. The others remained on their fliers, occasionally diving and slicing through several gnawers before quickly lifting off again. After a while, they flew back to the base camp to get more torches and oil to drop on the gnawers.

"HAHA!" Ripred cried as he sprinted towards the line of gnawers. "Looks like you're all out of shape!" the rat smirked as he jumped into a group of unsuspecting gnawers. As soon as he landed, he started to spin in an impossible speed, slicing at anything that came into range. He became a blender of death, spraying what looked like black blood in every direction. Other gnawers allied with the Regalians dropped in next to Ripred, immediately striking all the gnawers in their respective range.

Luxa pulled her sword out of an unlucky gnawer who took her for an easy mark and back-flipped as three gnawers suddenly swiped at her, enraged at their comrade's demise. While she was still in mid-air, Aurora came speeding down out of nowhere and picked up a gnawer before taking off with a war cry. Luxa then swiped down on the two remaining gnawers, caught off-guard by Aurora's intervention. Luxa easily cut through them and they gurgled into the ground.

York bashed through several gnawers with brute strength and smashed another on the head with the butt of his sword before driving his sword through it.

Soldiers to his left and right seemed to share his energy and were letting out various cries of victory with each kill they managed to rake in. Occasionally, much to York's sadness, a soldier did fall with a solemn groan, but he did not do so before taking out at least ten gnawers.

Despite the morbid atmosphere, York began to grin. They could win this. It wasn't a hopeless cause after all.

Then he heard the first flier cry out. He promptly snapped his attention to the source of the sound and what he saw left him wide-eyed. The flier had spiraled down to the ground, its rider thrown off into the middle of some gnawers. York saw that in the flier's wing, a large hole gaped. How…? His question was answered when drew his attention to King Gorger, who was managing to subdue multiple soldiers.

After stabbing another soldier in the heart with his razor sharp tail, King Gorger snapped his paw outward towards another flier. A shrouded arrow of blackness protruded from his paw and hit the flier, tearing through its wing, causing it fall to the ground in agony with a cry.

York wasn't the only one who noticed. Luxa and Ripred momentarily stopped fighting for a few moments as they stared in shock. They came to the same realization: they no longer had complete air superiority. The other soldiers flinched in surprise and suddenly there was a huge drop in energy and vigor as the soldiers realized that the casualty count was going to be much higher than expected.

"York! Ripred!" Luxa cried out as she fended off another gnawer. "We need to get rid of Gorger, NOW!" she spun and stabbed another gnawer in the eye. Another flier cried out as it fluttered pathetically to the ground.

York and Ripred nodded after finishing off their opponents. The three of them then gradually fought their way to King Gorger, who was still crushing all the soldiers who tried to attack him. Eventually, the trio managed to reach the giant gnawer. When they did, he turned and appeared amused at the sight of them cautiously approaching him.

"Ah, so you are all here." He licked his lips in anticipation. "The queen, the traitor, and the Fount's pathetic leader."

"And here you are." Ripred smirked. "Obese and groveling in your so sad death many years ago."

Gorger glowered at Ripred. "You are a fool for betraying us gnawers. You and your corrupted followers will never be successful in keeping peace with the Regalians." He spat. "Gnawers and Humans are meant to be enemies for life!" he roared as he swiped a paw at Ripred, shooting a large wave of black smoke at him.

Ripred jumped to the side as the blackness swarmed past him. "Hmmm." He glanced back at Gorger. "Looks like obese has some tricks after all." He smirked. Ripred was about to charge towards Gorger when he heard Luxa cry out.

"Behind you!" she yelled.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the black smoke coming back. He nimbly dodged again, but this time, he couldn't completely dodge the shot.

"ARGH!" he grunted as the tip of blackness sliced at his shoulder. He gripped it with his paw and staggered back. His shoulder felt as if it were being eaten. Consumed. The gnawer reluctantly glanced at it and saw that the blackness still there, eating at him. He quickly batted at it until it dissipated.

"These are not just 'tricks', traitor." Gorger cackled as he pointed a claw at each of them. Ripred threw Gorger an exasperated glare. Luxa grimaced and York tightened his grip on his sword as Gorger continued. "These are the powers of the dead. Only strong willed creatures such as I can obtain such powers." He grinned evilly as he flexed his paw before turning to face them again. "Prepare to be annihilated."

"Bah, you may have power, but you're still the weakest gnawer I know." York spat. "Once we kill you, this little play time of yours will be over."

"Even if you do manage to destroy me here, there will still be someone who will take my troops into battle." Gorger guffawed. Before Luxa, York, or Ripred could express any surprise at his words, Gorger's eyes glinted in glee. "You didn't think I was the only leader of the dead gnawers, now did you?" he smiled a wicked smile. "Oh no. I am not the leader. Another gnawer is here to make sure all the humans are destroyed."

"Impossible…" Ripred breathed.

"Oh yes." Gorger smiled in glee.

"It's the Bane."

* * *

"None of these fit." Gregor groaned. He was trying on various pieces of armor, but none of the armor pieces seemed to like Gregor. They all were either too big or too small. Rachel and Matt managed to find an armor of their size easy enough, much to Gregor's agitation.

"You know what, just screw it." Matt chuckled. "Just use your own armor, man. I don't care what that general said."

"Neither do I, but I can't." Gregor face palmed. He explained how he had crashed the wedding in the same armor and how Henry and some others would recognize the armor.

"I warned him not to do it; however, he went against my advice and did it anyway."Leonardo said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh shush, Leo." Gregor groaned. "Now what do I do?"

"Maybe Death could change the armor for you?" Rachel asked tentatively, jokingly.

"Right, ask him to walk over to his closet of armor sets and see which ones you like best." Matt laughed. Despite the hilarity of it, Matt tried to be serious. "You could try." He tried to stifle another wave of laughs as Rachel started to giggle.

"Yeah right. I'm not that desperate." Gregor smirked and joined in their laughter. Meanwhile, he secretly nudged Leonardo in his mind.

"_I shall try sending him a message." _Leonardo muttered in Gregor's mind.

"_Yeah you do that." _Gregor sighed in his head. He was that desperate.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed in the room. "Don't bother." It wheezed. "I'll do it right now."

The trio turned around frantically. Who was that? Where was it coming from? Just as they were about to call out, a figure limped out of the shadows of a corner in the room.

A battered raincoat hung limply on the figure's shoulders and a tattered mask of darkness was loosely hanging on the figure's face as he slowly made his way to them. He looked like he was in intense pain and was severely injured. It was Death.

"Holy crap…" Matt stared at the figure. "What happened to you?" Rachel ran up to help Death sit down.

"Are you alright?" she asked urgently.

"Haha…" Death choked out a laugh. "Two gnawers and human of incredible power are simply too much for me. Without my scythe I cannot even take one of them down. Ah…" he sighed. "And now they run amock in the Underland causing trouble."

The trio looked at each other. Gnawers _and _humans? This didn't sound good.

"And yet, the House of D continues to blame me." Death gave an amused chortle. "Regardless, I shall be fine, so do not worry." He gave the three worried warriors a smile. "It is amusing how you three worry about me even though I threw you into this mess."

"Well, you're our ticket out of here, so of course we'll worry." Matt sniffed.

"Very true." Death chuckled. "I was expecting too much, I suppose."

"What's happening in the realm of Death?" Rachel asked urgently. "Everyone thinks you're the one behind this assault."

"Ah yes…" Death sighed. "After sending you two with Gregor my power dropped immensely. Then two rats leading a horde of gnawers and a human leading a band of humans attacked me. They managed to usurp me. I can't even kill things anymore."

"Wait, if you're not in charge, then what happens to people when they die?" Gregor asked.

"I'm afraid they are placed in a state of comatose in purgatory until I receive my scythe and sort them out. As for those who have escaped me, they will fall into oblivion, never to be heard of again. I am sure your bracelets have told you."

"Master, are you going to change the armor now?"Leonardo pressed gently. "I am sorry, but we simply do not have time."

"Ah, of course!" he shook his head and placed a hand on Gregor's bracelet. "I should have foreseen this…" he muttered. "But then again, I did not know you would go so far as to crash a Joining Ceremony." He laughed softly.

Gregor turned red and avoided looking at Death. He was never going to hear the end of that, was he?

"There." Death finally stated after a while. "It is done. Your armor and weapon has been changed." He let go of Gregor's bracelet and turned back towards the corner and started to walk towards it.

"Wait!" Gregor called out. "We need to ask you some questions. Who's Headwind? He must have been an important leader here, right? That's how he was able to lead all those people out from your control, right?"

Death stopped for a moment, evidently surprised at the question. "It is none of your concern." He stated darkly before continuing his stride. "All you need to know is that Headwind most likely has my scythe. Get it back for me."

"Why won't you tell us?" Rachel called out. "It could be important!"

"However I must hate to admit it, Headwind can teach you something useful. Learn from him, if you must. Gain his trust." Death continued to walk, ignoring Rachel's plea.

"Does Headwind have something in mind for the scythe?" Matt called out, trying to stall Death.

"This shall be the last time I visit you in this realm." Death continued to ignore their questions as he limped towards the darkness. "The next time we meet again is either when you have accomplished your mission or when you have failed. Do not fail me."

With that, Death walked into the corner and disappeared.

* * *

**AN: Started writing this at 3 am while listening to some epic music by "Two Steps from Hell" because I was afraid I was going to forget some of the ideas in the morning. Well that was a pretty long chapter... well it was normal compared to my recent chapters huh? I took a look at the reviews and I was surprised! A lot of you have some good ideas. I would do shout outs but most of them were anonymous so... yeah. If you want to know how far this is from the end, I'll tell you it's not that close. I'm planning to make this a bit long, so that could either be a good thing or a bad thing... but it's what I'm going to do. I finally finished my SAT studies at my SAT preparation classes for now (although I am self studying now) so I should be able to write a bit faster. Anyway, as always, review!**

**Seriously. I am hungry for reviews. Nom. **


	11. Death's Change

**Chapter 11**  
Death's Change**  
**

* * *

"HRAAGHH!" A splitting scream tore across the sky.

"Ugh!" Luxa was thrown against a wall nearby. She panted, glancing down at her wounds. To her relief, the wounds didn't seem too severe, but they were accumulating at an alarming rate. Gorger was a pain to deal with before, but now it was ridiculous.

Ripred was the only one who could remain in fighting condition against Gorger, but he didn't seem to fare too well. Luxa grimaced as she watched Gorger throw another black streak of power into Ripred. The rat grunted in surprise, but managed to stay on his feet and counter attack.

York was already on the ground, gnashing his teeth in frustration, his body paralyzed by pain. Gorger and his army were slowly backing their own army into a corner. Luxa's heart raced. She couldn't focus. What were they going to do?

"Don't just stand there, Luxa!" Ripred grunted as he deflected another blow from Gorger. "Get out of here!" he snarled before promptly slicing into Gorger's fur.

Gorger smirked as if he couldn't feel the scratch. The large rat leader continued to trade blows with Ripred, who was in full rager mode, slashing far faster than Luxa could breathe.

He was doing all of this, suffering so much, and yet he was telling her to get out? She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The greatest rager alive, her bond, and her close friend was telling her to run away?

"What are you saying?!" She growled. "We can still win!"

"No. We can't." Ripred's eyes grew somber. "It was ridiculous to think that we could win. Get out and retreat. Now." He glared at her, pleading, but defiant.

Gorger guffawed. "Yes! Leave! Run away! Cower like the pitiful beings you are! We will hunt every last human and destroy them!" he roared as he swung a tail at Ripred, who ducked and nimbly swiped back.

"We need to end it here!" she cried.

"Shut it, Luxa!" Ripred growled. He jumped high into the air and dug his claws deep into Gorger who roared in rage, swiping his large paws at the rager. "Get out! We can't win this one!" he shouted. "Take York and the rest of the army and get back to Regalia!"

Luxa shook her head fiercely. "I'm sorry." She muttered before grabbing her sword and charging towards Gorger.

"No!" Ripred shouted to stop her, but Gorger already saw the opportunity. He grinned hungrily and formed shadowy orbs in his claws.

_CLANG!_

In a flash, Luxa's sword was tattered to pieces by one strike of Gorger's dark claws, the other paw coming down to strike her neck. Immediately, she tried to dodge to one side, but Gorger was simply too fast with his new powers. He swiped his tail and knocked Luxa to the ground, knocking the breath out of her.

The claws came down to strike her again. Luxa couldn't move as the claws sank deep into flesh with an agonizing squelching sound. But not her own. She looked up and opened her mouth to scream, but a weak sound of shock dribbled out as she comprehended what she was seeing. The body of a rat was standing in front of her, with its blood dripping greedily to the floor.

Ripred.

"Hah…" the Ripred spluttered as a river of blood poured out from under him. "Nice try. You don't have my permission to kill her." He coughed. "It's game over for you."

"Game Over?" Gorger guffawed. "It is your end, you fool." He heaved. "Don't make me lau-" Suddenly, Gorger's eyes bulged out of his head. A pair of claws protruded from Gorger's chest.

With a grunt, Ripred slashed downwards and cut through Gorger's body. Gorger roared in pain as he fell to his knees. The rat leader was severely injured, but he managed to push Ripred away and stay on his feet.

"I'll kill you!" he roared.

"Ripred!" Luxa's legs shook intensely as she got up.

"Tougher than I thought." Ripred laughed softly. Blood continued to drip slowly away from Ripred's body. Every drip was a drop of his life, running for its freedom.

Luxa's vision became blurry. "No." she choked. "Ripred..." Luxa reached out to the rat and looked into his eyes. She found compassion lying deep inside of them. Something she never thought he had. He opened his mouth for one last message as Luxa trembled.

"Take care of the others." He muttered before eyes slowly closed.

"No!" Luxa gasped and stumbled to her feet.

Ripred's breathing slowed and he lost against his final battle against eternal slumber.

"NO!" Luxa screamed again. She started running towards Ripred when she suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air.

She looked up and saw Aurora picking her and York off the ground. "Let me go!" she cried.

"No." Aurora replied with a firm voice and continued to fly away. "Ripred is correct. We must retreat." her words were firm, but her voice was quacking. She quickly swooped down towards the battlefield where many Regalian soldiers struggled to fend off the shadow gnawers.

She looked around the battlefield, an expression of sorrow and regret creeping on her face before taking a deep breath and shouting. "Retreat! Fall back! Fall back!"

Immediately, the remaining Regalian soldiers started to run back. Many of them were cut down quickly by gnawers as they jeered at their retreat. Luxa bit her lip and buried her face in her hands. She had failed. The sounds of the Regalian soldiers crying out as they fell and the laughter of the gnawers as they slashed at the retreating soldiers pierced through her usually stoic expression and she began to cry uncontrollably.

* * *

"Those left in the armory, move it!" a voice cried out from outside. Gregor, Matt, and Rachel snapped their heads towards the sound. Looks like the Death attack was here.

"Time to go." Matt urged as he moved to activate his bracelet. "Sure wish I got an upgrade like you." He flashed a grin at Gregor as he stretched his arms.

"_Actually, all three of you received very similar armor upgrades." _Leonardo informed. "_Death transmitted the upgrade data to all three of you through us – your bracelets." _

"Woah, seriously?!" Matt's eyes budged out of his head. "I gotta go test this out. See ya!" He squealed in anticipation and trounced out the door, but not before giving Rachel a knowing smile.

"Someone looks too excited to go into battle." Rachel groaned.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He has Sam after all." Gregor smiled.

They laughed for a bit, but soon, an awkward silence fell over them as they both realized they were alone. Rachel's face slowly lowered and Gregor could tell she was trying hard not to look at him. He cleared his throat. He knew he was going to have to do this eventually.

"Er…" Gregor shifted his feet. "Look, I guess I haven't properly apologized to you." Gregor murmured softly. "With Matt going off like that at our place, I didn't get the time to-"

"It's fine." Rachel smiled a little. "He was having a tough time. He needed your apology more than I did."

Rachel turned to Gregor to give an encouraging smile to show she was alright, but from the look on his face, she noticed that Gregor clearly didn't believe her. He was frowning, trying to think of something to say.

"What about now?" Gregor asked hesitantly. He took a step towards Rachel, trying to get a look at her face. "You still haven't forgiven me, have you?" he took ahold of her hand. "Rachel…?"

"I…I…" Rachel blushed furiously. Damn him. His face was getting too close. She could feel his concerned eyes staring right at her face. And his hand was gripping hers so gently... "I…I forgave you back when I saw you in Headwind's room. I saw how much you still cared about us…so…" she trailed off.

"...Really?" Gregor still looked unconvinced. He took a finger and lifted Rachel's face. "Because it seems like you're mad about something else." Gregor's eyes looked into hers.

Rachel's heart fluttered. She could feel her hand tremble in his. Her mind was filling with random thoughts all of the sudden. Gregor smelled nice. She didn't brush her teeth today. Was her hair a mess? Nothing seemed to make sense. She was sure she was going to faint. Was he going to kiss her? His face was close enough that she could feel his breath on her face.

"It's just…" she trailed off and quickly craned her neck away from Gregor's curious face. _I like you. _The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say it. She knew she could never say it.

Before, back at school, she always had chances like this: being alone with Gregor with no one else around to disturb them. She could have told him. But every time she was always too scared to take the risk. Just like now. But this time, Rachel felt something was different. She knew that it wasn't of fear that she couldn't bring herself to say the words… it was something else…

"Just…?" Gregor urged.

"Just…" Rachel let go of Gregor's hand and twiddled with her thumbs. "Just… I didn't like how much you made Matt worry. He's been through a lot and it hasn't been easy to always be there for him…" She wanted to facepalm. Where was this coming from? That's not what she wanted to say! At least, she didn't think that's what she wanted to say. Rachel shook her head in an attempt to dissipate the confusion.

"Ah…" Gregor let out a breath as he let Rachel's hand go and stepped away from her. "I see." He said solemnly, looking somewhat serious.

Rachel quickly looked up in panic. What did he find out? Does he know that she liked him? Was he going to reject her? She took a deep breath to calm herself.

"W…what are you talking about?" she slowly asked, not sure what to expect.

"I didn't think you felt like that." Gregor started slowly.

"Didn't feel like what?" Rachel trembled. He knew. He had to. Why else would he be so tense? She braced herself as Gregor's lips formed his next words.

"You…" Gregor stared at Rachel. "You like Matt, don't you?" Gregor was barely audible, but he had a small smile on his face.

"W…" Rachel's face was filled with mixed emotions. Her eyes fluttered and her face grew even redder. "No, I... he…" she was at a loss for words and couldn't do anything besides simply stand there, in the middle of the armor room, stammering unintelligible words at an impossible rate.

"Don't worry." Gregor laughed. "Your secret is safe with me." He gently nudged Rachel as he walked towards the doorway. "I'll meet you outside." He whispered. With that, Gregor's footsteps echoed down the hall, leaving Rachel alone.

She stood there for a moment, unsure of what just happened. Eventually, her knees gave way and she slid to the ground. Rachel expected herself to cry or scream in frustration, but surprisingly, she did neither. A feeling of confusion swept over her.

"_I think he's right, you know." _Arja murmured gently in her mind. "_I've delved into your memory databanks. According to statistics, you have a ninety-three percent chance of liking Ma -" _

"S-shut up!" Rachel squealed before Arja could finish. "W…we need to get going." She clumsily pried the door open and scrambled through. Arja didn't say anymore, but her gentle laughter bounced off the walls of the hallway as Rachel ran through it and towards the battlefield.

* * *

"Squalor's team! You will go around and get a flank of the enemy!" Henry shouted. "Ares and I will lead the charge up front! Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Henry!" a chorus of soldiers' roars responded and they tugged on the corners of Henry's mouth. Excellent. All was well.

He gazed out at the horizon and could see the gnawer army in the distance. They had stopped for some reason and didn't seem to have plans to move any closer, which was beneficial to Henry for an assault.

"What are they doing?" he chuckled. "The longer they wait, the more time we have to prepare."

"Lord Henry!" suddenly, a bat swooped down towards Henry and a scout jumped off. "We have a visual of the enemy. Our estimates say we outnumber the gnawers, however…"

"What is it?" Henry snapped. "Out with it!"

"Other scouts reported Bane in the mix. Not only that, but a human army stands alongside the gnawers." The scout blurted.

"What?!" Henry stared at the scout like he'd been told chocolate fell from the sky. "Humans? How can that be?"

"Is there a problem?" Gregor called as he, Matt, and Rachel rushed up to the gate where all the other soldiers gathered. "What's going on?" Gregor asked as the three of them came up.

"It… it's nothing." Henry frowned slightly before dismissing the scout. "And it's about time you showed up, Jack," he scoffed. "We are going to begin our assault on the gnawers. We plan to keep a strong front and send several teams to attack from the flanks. From there, the plan is to drive back the enemy far back where they cannot disturb us again." He grinned. "Or better yet, just kill them all."

"Sounds good to me." Matt flashed a smile. "I can't wait to test out my new stuff."

"Do not speak like a greenhorn." Henry scolded. "We are at war. You may very well get yourself killed."

Rachel's eyes widened and she instinctively grabbed onto Matt, who jumped in surprise.

"Rachel…?" Matt asked in surprise.

"S-sorry!" she stammered as she pushed Matt away. "Just surprised, that's all." She avoided Matt's curious face. After her talk with Gregor, it seemed impossible to look at Matt without feeling embarrassed. She could sense Gregor smiling knowingly at her, trying to be supportive. She groaned inwardly. What a mess.

"We are wasting time with all this small chatter." boomed a voice behind them. All the soldiers, including Henry, turned to look and saw Headwind approaching them.

"Lord Headwind!" the soldiers shouted in unison before bowing. Henry gave a curt nod and lowered his head slightly.

"Do not mind what they say." Headwind sighed, ignoring the bowed soldiers. "Focus on the task at hand. We should strike first before they strike us. Now."

"Lord," Henry coughed. "My apologies. We will set off as you command." He turned to the rest of the soldiers. "You all know the plan! Move out!" he shouted.

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers shouted in unison as they all mounted up on bats and took off or fell in line behind Henry. Satisfied, Henry turned and motioned to Ares.

"Ares!" Henry called. The giant bat rose slightly, as if in a trance, but he failed to respond. After a brief moment of silence, Henry tried again.

"Ares!" he called. Still no response. Then, Henry's eyes changed. He growled and his eyes flashed red, glaring at Ares. Ares suddenly went stiff, not moving a muscle as Henry's glare encroached his mind.

"_Ares." _he growled slowly. _"Come here . Now." _Henry's voice echoed.

Ares jolted and swiftly moved over to Henry's side, making subtle, erratic movements to reach Henry before eventually bowing when he reached him.

"Y…yes, milord." Ares murmured as Henry strode over.

Gregor's grip tightened. Hypnotism. This was the first time he had actually seen it, and the mere idea of it sickened him. He truly ached to lash out at Henry and free his bond, but he knew that he couldn't do that. Not now. Gregor swore that he would not leave the Underland before freeing Ares from it.

"Move out!" Henry yelled. He and Headwind mounted Ares and took off, leading a charge of soldiers behind them. The trio was going to follow the troops when Leonardo stopped them.

"_Something seems off." _Leonardo muttered. _"The dead are not using their full force to attack us, which is strange, seeing as they are outnumbered if they sererate." _

"Why?" Gregor asked.

"_I do not know for sure… Wait. Hold on." _ Gregor could hear Leonardo scanning something for a moment. But then, he suddenly went quiet.

"What is it?" Gregor asked hesitantly.

"_We have a problem." _Leonardo sounded concerned.

"What?"

"_There's a reason for why the gnawer half of the army is not fighting us." _Leonardo's voice was grim.

"Why?"

Leonardo cursed softly before answering. _"They're cutting off Regalia's retreat."_

* * *

"This is crazy." Matt muttered as he and Rachel were flying in front of a platoon of bats, leading them behind enemy lines. "I can't believe we're actually doing this."

They had left Gregor to go with Headwind and Henry to deal with the humans that were engaging with the main force while they left to help reinforce Regalia's army. Of course, they didn't get permission from Henry to change the positioning of the attack, so it was done in secret.

"Are you sure Lord Headwind made the command to drop the flanking team behind the second half of the army?" Squalor called from behind them.

"For the last time, yes he did! I'm not lying!" Matt responded impatiently. Of course he was lying. And it was becoming harder to do so with a straight face because poor, innocent Squalor believed them so easily. _"Well I guess you are Headwind's students..." _He had said before letting them take command.

"We're almost there." The bat under him and Rachel urged. "Get ready to call the drop."

"Alright!" Matt grinned. "It's about time!" he quickly twisted his bracelet and let his armor overtake him. "C'mon Rachel." He nudged the girl behind him. "Suit up!"

"H-huh?!" Rachel jumped. "O…oh right. Sorry." She muttered before twisting her bracelet.

"_What's gotten into her?" _Sam asked.

"Beats me." Matt shrugged. "She's been like that ever since she came out of the armory."

After a few moments, Matt and Rachel gasped. The gnawer army was finally in view. But that wasn't the only thing they saw. Matt and Rachel grimaced as they saw the Regalian Army coming from a distance away, oblivious to the wall of dark troops charging towards them. Chaos was about to ensue.

"Can you drop me off here and go back with Rachel to warn the Regalian Army? Prepare them for engagement. The squad and I will try to buy as much time as we can." Matt urged.

"Understood, mighty student of Headwind." The bat nodded as it zoomed towards the army.

Just as the bat swooped down a couple hundred feet away from a squad of shadow gnawers, it tipped its wing so Matt could jump off. "Deploy!" it called out to the rest of the squad. Matt and Rachel could hear the grunts of many soldiers grunting as they jumped off their bats. Matt grabbed Rachel's hand for a moment and squeezed her hand.

"Be careful, alright?" he grinned. When he looked up, he saw that Rachel was already staring at him intently.

"…Is there something on my face?" Matt asked jokingly.

"Nothing at all. Jeez." she looked away. "Get going." She huffed as she let go of Matt's hand. Matt jumped off the bat and rolled into a fighting position. He felt somewhat confused at what had just happened.

What was her deal? Matt shrugged off the issue. They could talk about it later. Right now, he had to fight like his life depended on it. He shivered in anticipation.

"Move on my mark!" he called to the soldiers who were getting into position behind him.

"_Alright, remember what I told you. Just follow my moves and you'll be fine." _Sam warned.

"Sure." Matt grinned and turned to the rest of the squad. "Mark."

The squad sprinted towards a section of the leading part of the army and took them by surprise. It took a while for the rats to register that there was an intervention going on. But by the time they figured it out, a whole front line of the army was already dead, cut into several pieces.

Matt's katanas flashed as he cut through the lines at an incredible speed, slashing through rats like they were nothing.

"This is one hell of an upgrade." He grinned as he continued to hack away.

"_Yeah! Fresh meat!" _ Sam laughed while another group of shadowy rats tried to attack Matt.


	12. Death's Power

**Chapter 12**  
Death's Power

* * *

"Luxa we are being cut off!" urged Aurora as she and Luxa flew to the front of the retreating army. "We are sandwiched!"

Luxa reluctantly turned her face upwards and glared at the horizon that seemed to sneer at her withering army. As she adjusted to the sight, her eyes widened in shock. Waiting in front of them was a hideous smoky army, all the gnawers grinning in anticipation, their claws scratching against the ground beneath them eagerly. With a sudden jab of fear, Luxa realized that she had just led her army into a trap. With Gorger's fearsome army somewhere behind them and another gnawer army in front of them, Regalia would have no choice but to fight on two fronts. The queen gritted her teeth as she tried to formulate a plan. But no matter what idea she formulated in her head, all the outcomes appeared to be tainted with grim results. With despair writhing inside her body, she opened her mouth to yell to the rest of the army of the incoming threat when she suddenly saw something that caught her attention.

The gnawer army in front of them was suddenly becoming disoriented and chaotic, as if someone had dropped a bomb in the middle of them. Luxa squinted and she could make out a squad of dark-armored soldiers in the midst of all the confusion hacking away at the gnawers. There was one soldier in particular who killed multitudes of gnawers almost like a rager. Armored completely in white armor, he quickly ran through the ranks of the gnawer army with oddly-shaped swords that gleamed brightly every time it ate up another gnawer soul. Luxa furrowed her brow. Who were these soldiers? Were they a part of the House of D? What were they doing here?

"He kills well." Luxa heard Aurora murmur. "If he continues, we may be able to push past the blockade." She continued with a hopeful purr.

As Aurora was saying this, a bat whizzed towards them and the girl on top waved to them.

"Hey!" she called. "Reinforcements are here to help! The House of D trying to form a small wall for your army to get through." She pointed towards the dark-clad soldiers tearing at the gnawer army, who by now had recovered from the surprise attack and were fighting back fiercly. "Hurry!"

Nodding to the girl curtly, Luxa signaled her army to escape behind the House of D's small army. Just before taking off herself with Aurora, Luxa stopped herself and squinted at the girl.

"Who are you?" she asked curiously.

The girl didn't respond right away. She seemed transfixed on the soldier slashing through the gnawer army whom Luxa was watching earlier. Eventually, the girl sighed and turned to Luxa with a small smile.

"I can't believe it. I got dragged along with that guy over there in all this mess." She groaned a little. "I'm Rachel. A friend of Gregor's." she shrugged like it was nothing.

At the sound of Gregor's name, Luxa gave a start and squeaked a little. Embarrassed, she opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when she saw the girl's amused expression looking back at her.

"You must be Luxa, right? The queen of Regalia or something or other - I mean, you look the part and all. Yeah…" Rachel trailed off awkwardly as she looked up and down at Luxa. "He's told me a lot about you…" her amused smile slowly faded into a somewhat dejected one, much to Luxa's curiosity.

"Has he?" Luxa murmured. She didn't know why, but her chest did a jump when she heard that. "H-how is he doing? At the House of D I mean. And where is he? Is he here?" All the questions that were nagging at her suddenly poured out, becoming a huge tidal wave of words.

Rachel's brow furrowed for a moment. "Well he seems pretty comfortable there. I honestly think he finds this place more like home than… well, up there." She pointed upwards towards New York. "As for where he is right now, I'm not sure. He went off to fight the other shadow army with Henry." She sighed. "He's so reckless. Really… he worries me a lot."

"Oh…" Luxa couldn't help but feel disappointed. He wasn't here.

"Anyway, I should get going. Matt might need me." The girl swiftly turned around and twisted the bracelet on her arm. Bright white armor plates quickly slid out of the bracelet and covered her whole body as a mist of snow-like smoke produced a bow and a pack of arrows on her back.

"Wait!" Luxa called out.

Rachel turned and cocked her head curiously.

"What…exactly…is…uhm…" Luxa struggled for a moment.

"…is my relationship with Gregor?" Rachel slowly finished for her.

Luxa turned away and tried not to look at the now menacing-looking visor that seemed to glare at her.

"Do you still love him?" Rachel's voice peeked out from behind her visor.

"I…I…" she hesitated. "I do not know." Luxa avoided Rachel's piercing gaze and looked down at her hands. "It has been so long since I have seen him. I am just… very confused."

"Piece of advice," Rachel turned away from Luxa and readied herself. "Figure it out fast. And act on it." She looked over her shoulder. "If you don't, someone else might take him." At this, Luxa's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but Rachel raised a hand to stop her.

"But I don't think that could happen because… I think he's waiting on you."

With that, Rachel took off and flew towards the army of gnawers with her bow now in hand. With the flick of her hands, she was soon raining blinding lines into the flesh of the gnawers at Arja's directions.

Regalia's Queen didn't move from her spot, still thinking about what Rachel had just said. _"He's waiting." _

"After all this time… he still…" Luxa's face was slowly growing into a smile and she twiddled her thumbs.

"Shall we go, Luxa?" Aurora coughed awkwardly. "I do believe this is not the time for another of your romantic fantasies, I am sad to inform you." The golden bat seemed to snicker a little despite the threatening situation they were in.

"What?" Luxa's face flushed pink. "Hush, Aurora."

"Yes, well, while you both were having a nice talk, I believe most of our army has successfully retreated. Shall we follow them?"

"Yes, of course." Luxa patted her bond's back. "Let us do so."

Aurora nodded and swooped with the rest of the Regalian army, running back into their stronghold.

"Admit it. You are happy." Aurora teased.

Luxa sniffed but didn't answer. She looked up at the darkness above and closed her eyes.

"I hope he's alright…" she murmured.

* * *

"Agh!" A soldier's scream tore through the sky.

A gigantic white paw grabbed handfuls of soldiers and tossed them aside as if they were mere toys. The other paw filled with dark orbs and threw them at a cluster of unfortunate bats that couldn't move away in time. Everything around him seemed to be fall into Death's lap. Bane. He stood up on his hind legs and roared before charging deeper into the House of D's army.

"Tch." Henry grimaced as he watched from afar alongside Lord Headwind. "I have heard of stories of such a gnawer in the prophecies of Sandwich, but to think he was this monstrous…"

"Sandwich has described him quite accurately in his prophecies… The Bane will be a troubling one to take care of, I agree." Headwind observed. "But nothing we cannot handle."

As Lord Headwind said this, a dark orb whizzed past them, narrowly missing the duo by inches.

"It appears he has spotted us." Headwind sighed. "A shame. I was starting to get comfortable."

"Shall I go after him?" Henry glanced sideways at Headwind. "I am sure I will be able to get the job done with Ares." He puffed up proudly as he patted Ares on his head. Ares didn't respond, but he tensed noticeably as he felt Henry's hand touch him.

"No." Headwind raised a hand. "We will leave Jack's team to take the brunt of the attack. We shall come in when things fare badly." Headwind then raised an eyebrow. "Speak of the demons. It looks like Jack is going to take him on."

"Jack?" Henry quickly turned his head back towards Bane. He squinted and could see one soldier making his way towards the enormously white gnawer. "He's mad. He may be somewhat skilled, but this is clearly suicide. He has had no training whatsoever!" He snorted.

"If only it were the case…" Headwind murmured wistfully as they watched Gregor fight his way towards Bane. Ares watched too, and even through his hypnosis, he could feel something. Something that he hadn't felt in a long time…

* * *

With new white armor fitted on his body, adrenaline was coursing through his body like a wildfire. Gregor hacked his way through piles of enemies with Leonardo's help. He was able to overcome any enemy that tried to get in his way, whether they were human or gnawer, it didn't matter. Gregor's new long saber scythe tore through everything. Gregor also found that Death also granted him a wide kiteshield that fitted on his arm bracer like it was a part of it. Bash to stun the enemy. Follow up with a slash to vital organs. With his rager mode fully on, Gregor was able to decimate tons of soldiers at once. However, despite having killed tons of shadow soldiers, Gregor simply didn't care. All of his focus was all aimed at one thing, and one thing only: Bane.

He shuddered as he remembered the last time he saw him in the vicious battle that cost him his bond and best friend in the Underland. It was something he would never forget.

There they were, he and Ares, fighting the hardest battle of their lives. He cut off the tail. Ares spun around him but couldn't get away fast enough. Bane grabbed him and… Ares died. Gregor wasn't strong enough - and because of that, Ares had to live under Henry's control. Gregor gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his scythe.

"_Gregor you are very close to being within striking distance of the Bane. You are emotionally unstable."_ Leonardo warned. _"It would be wise to pull back a bit and formulate a strategy." _

"No." Gregor growled as he spun for a final time and dozens of bodies fell at his feet. "He's getting it now."

Ignoring any further advice from Leonardo, Gregor charged towards the white rat. He brought up his saber and put his shield out in front of him, intending to bash the beast to gain a stun advantage. Just as he pulled back his arm to ram into the Bane, a sword swung towards him. A slim, fully armored soldier suddenly came out of nowhere and managed to push Gregor with their sword. _Clang!_ Gregor barely managed to lift his shield in time before being hit by the sword again. Without hesitating, Gregor counter attacked and jumped forward with another spin attack, but the mysterious figure nimbly jumped back and kicked Gregor's saber hand while he was in mid-spin.

With a grunt of surprise, Gregor stepped back as his saber flew from his hand and landed a few feet away from him before he hit the ground awkwardly without a weapon. The soldier promptly pointed his sword at Gregor. Gregor looked up at the armored soldier before him and huffed. This guy clearly was better than the rest of the soldiers.

"Not bad." Gregor called out to the figure. "You're probably the best challenge I've seen all day."

The figure didn't respond and began to charge at Gregor.

"_Leo, quick, what should I do?" _Gregor urged in the back of his mind. He could hear Leonardo scoff.

"_Oh __**now**__ you want my help. I seem to recall someone clearly ignoring my advice several minutes ago…" _he sniffed.

"_Now's not the time!" _

"_Alright, alright. According to my initial analysis, this one is fast. He could probably slice you up before you could run and grab your weapon. Their timing and swordsmanship is also quite above the average soldier. This guy knows what he's doing." _

"_So I've noticed." _Gregor frowned. "_Any weaknesses?" _

"_He's fast, but if you use your rager ability to focus on your own speed, you should be able to become faster than him." _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Watch out!" _

Gregor snapped back to reality as Leonardo's warning flashed in his mind. Immediately, he threw himself to the side and he heard the clang of a sword hit the ground. Cursing softly, the armored figure lifted his sword off the ground and sliced at Gregor again. In a blink of an eye, Gregor quickly thrusted his shield upwards and pushed the assailant back.

"_Focus!" _Leo called out from the back of his mind.

Gregor's rager sensation was in full gear, his eyes darting side to side, seeing all the vital points he could try to hit, his arms and legs twitching to keep his body in motion.

According to Leo, he had to somehow convert all of these sensations into speed? Gregor grimaced as he realized he didn't have much time before the armored soldier would be on him again. With a grunt, he quickly reviewed everything he learned during his track training in the Overland and pushed off the ground and reached out towards his scythe.

Time seemed to slow down in that one instant. The moment Gregor's foot left the ground, his outstretched hand was already grasping the hilt of his saber. What was going on…? As he grabbed the scythe, Gregor knew he had no time to think about it. Shaking his head quickly, he landed and immediately charged towards the backside of the armored figure, who apparently still hadn't figured what had happened. Or so he thought.

What appeared to be a quick victory for Gregor suddenly turned upside-down when the mysterious figure suddenly ducked to one side just as Gregor's scythe was about to pierce the armor. Gregor's eyes widened and he threw out his other arm before the soldier could retaliate.

_THUMP!_

Gregor then felt his arm connect with something and growled as he was thrown back a few feet away from the soldier. Panting, he scrambled to his feet and took his fighting stance and… he nearly dropped his saber.

The helmet that was previously encased on the soldier's head was now sitting on the ground next to the soldier, cracked in two pieces. Long, silver hair flowed down from the revealed smirking face that bore its eyes into Gregor's shocked face.

"_A woman…? Gregor, do you know her?" _Leonardo's curious voice echoed in his head.

"What… what are you doing here?" Gregor's mouth hung open.

"Who are you?" the woman narrowed her eyes as she tried to peer through Gregor's helmet with a look of disdain. "I prefer to fight soldiers who are not afraid to show their faces."

Gregor's hands didn't move as he responded. "You're one to talk. You had a helmet covering your face too."

"It was minimal protection. It breaks very easily, as you have just proven yourself. Your helmet, on the other hand, is that of a coward's. It is a thick armored helmet for those who cannot call themselves real soldiers."

"I really don't care. Tell me what you're doing here." Gregor gritted his teeth.

"I would rather speak to someone on such discussions face to face. Go on then." The woman sneered. "Or are you too cowardly to do such a thing?"

"No... but I would rather not take my chances with you." he coughed. "And... before I forget… I think I have to tell you I'm sorry." Gregor muttered to the woman.

"What was that?"

"I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what? Being too much of a coward?"

"No… for losing your dagger."

Only silence followed as Gregor's words reached the woman's ears. After the longest moment, the woman looked up and stared at Gregor's visor again, this time with an expression of disbelief and surprise.

"…Gregor?" she whispered.

"Hey Solovet. Nice to see you too." Gregor glared at her. "Now," he took his saber and pointed it at Solovet. "I'm going to have to ask you again. What are you doing here?"

"…I would rather not say." She said slowly, eyeing Gregor carefully.

"Then I'm going to have to ask you to get out of the way."

Solovet stared at Gregor like he had just asked her to cut off her own head.

"Oh no, I could not possibly do that." Her expression darkened. "I must protect the Bane at all costs."

"Why?!" Gregor yelled. "You know he's the cause for your death, right?! He killed so many of our soldiers! He ruined the Underland! Why the hell would you-"

"He was not the cause of my death!" Solovet hissed. "I died a pitiful death because of Regalia's incompetence!" she screamed. "I was abandoned! Betrayed! When you received intel of a trap that lay ahead of me, what did you do? What did you _do_?!"

"If we had sent a party after you, the gnawers would've found out that we cracked the code! We couldn't just-"

"You FOOLS!" she cried. "What say Vikus? What say Ripred? Do not tell me they all said the same!" Solovet's eyes hardened and she tightened her grip on her sword, waiting for Gregor's answer.

Gregor couldn't respond. Ripred was the one who told him not to go after her. Vikus went along with it too, but he did so reluctantly…

"I would have gone after you…" Gregor's eyes fell to the ground.

"Do not lie to me." Solovet's voice became icy cold. "I see now it is pointless to talk to you any further. My revenge will be exacted and the Bane will succeed!"

Without warning, Solovet sprinted towards Gregor and swung her sword at Gregor, who was still somewhat shaken by Solovet's sudden appearance.

"_GREGOR! MOVE!" _

The sound of the blade ripping into flesh was the only thing that made sense to Gregor as he dropped to the ground.

* * *

**AN: Here we go again...**


	13. Death's Surprise

**Chapter 13**  
Death's Surprise

* * *

Matt grunted heavily as he slid past two rats and sliced at their backs. With a cry, the two unfortunate "test dummies", as Sam liked to call them, fell to the ground, writhing into black smoke.

"_Damn, that was a good one!" _Sam chuckled. "_Did you see their faces?! 'AHH help me! Help me!_"

"I feel like I'm getting better at this." Matt grinned. "It's almost like a video game. I'm not getting tired at all!"

"_Of course not. The suit is designed to drastically reduce your energy consumption by at least half. Oh, by the way, three more gnawers incoming at 5 o-clock." _

Matt whirled and slashed in that direction. His katanas cut into the shocked faces of more "test dummies" and more smoke dissipated into the air.

"Hah! Nice call there." Matt grinned as he backed up.

"_No problem. Those suckers never saw it coming." _Sam yawned.

As Matt continued to fight through the ranks of gnawers, Sam suddenly piped up with the most unexpected question he'd ever expect to hear from a bracelet.

"_Oh yeah, by the way…so…what's the story with Rachel?" _

Matt jerked unnaturally and he tripped over a rock, falling on his bottom. Embarrassed, he quickly scrambled to his feet and blocked the incoming claws that were going for his face.

"Excuse me?!" he stuttered. "What do you mean by that?"

"_Oh c'mon. Don't tell me you didn't think I saw those googly eyes she was giving you when we got dropped off._"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Matt grunted. He sliced through another rat, but a claw managed to rake against his visor, stunning him temporarily. Suddenly, the fighting was becoming much more difficult without Sam's concentration, he realized.

"_Or maybe… you don't know how she feels about you?" _Sam seemed to frown.

"Agh!" Matt growled as he took another claw to the chest and retaliated, backing up even further. "I know _exactly _how she feels about me."

"_Enlighten me."_

"I'm nothing more than a friend to her. The one she has feelings for is Gregor."

"_Gregor…? Are you certain?" _

"Of course! She's liked since forever ago." Matt started to pant as two more rats began to come up behind him.

"_Are you certain she still has feelings for him now?"_

"Why wouldn't she?"

"_Because from my point of view, it doesn't look that way anymore."_

"W…what do you mean?" Matt asked hesitantly. The rats were making a circle around him. This wasn't good.

"_Oh nothing… just that I think you're too afraid to even admit that you lik- hey are you even listening to me?" _

The rats had tackled Matt to the ground and were now slashing at his armor. Matt struggled to move amidst the chaos and realized his katanas weren't in his grasp anymore.

"Oh, well I don't know!" Matt yelled. "Maybe I can't listen because I'm being slaughtered over here?!"

"_Oh right. Sorry about that. My bad. Your katanas are a bit more to your left. Grab them and slash upwards. You can get the other two." _

Matt frantically strained his left arm and managed to reach the hilt of one of his katanas. He swiftly grabbed it and swung upwards, cutting through the rat on his left. As he kicked another one off his body, he managed to grab his other katana and spun in a circle, slashing at the throats of the remaining two rats.

"Thanks." Matt huffed.

"_Anytime. Now about Rachel…"_

"Can it."

"_Oh… very well. Anyway, it looks like Regalia's retreated to their city. I think we should pull out our squad and move them to the battle at the House of D. before Henry or Headwind notice that they're gone. We'll get overwhelmed at this rate anyhow."_

"Right. Squalor!" he called behind his back where the rest of the squad was fighting. "We're done! Move on out back to the House of D!"

"Roger!" Squalor called back and signaled to the rest of the squad. As soon as the signal was given, all the bats in the air swooped down and their riders jumped on before flying off.

One bat swooped towards Matt and a hand reached out to help him get on. Grabbing it, Matt heaved himself onto the bat and saw it was Rachel who was helping him up. He tried to flash a smile before realizing that he was moving a little too fast.

Suddenly, after a squeal hit his eardrums and he let out a yell of surprise, Matt found himself on top of Rachel, pinning her down on the bat's back.

Silence.

Matt's body became frozen and he was sure that he was blushing under his visor. The flushed teen suddenly felt a great appreciation for tinted visors. He couldn't imagine what Rachel's face was like under her visor and he certainly didn't want to find out.

"What do you think you're doing you idiot…" Matt could tell that she was trying to be mad, but her voice was quite soft.

"S-sorry…" Matt scrambled off of her and turned his back towards her. "Sort of miscalculated my step there."

"R…right. Watch it next time." Rachel let out a sound of discomfort and turned her back to Matt in response.

"…_So about Rachel…" _Sam's voice crept into his mind.

"I _said_ can it."

* * *

"What in the Underland…" Henry breathed. "What is _she_ doing here?" he pointed a shaking finger in Solovet's direction.

"I did not foresee this at all…" Headwind sounded surprised. "I knew she would have the potential to escape Death's prisons, but I did not imagine she would do something like this."

"Wait, what?" Henry turned to look at Headwind. "What do you mean 'escape Death's prisons'? I thought the House of D. was the only group that managed to escape Death."

"Every once in a while, there are people strong enough and fueled by enough ambition to leave even the deepest depths of Death's clutches. The only consequence of leaving is the risk of oblivion if you die again. I believe I have told you all this before, Henry. Were you paying attention at all?"

Henry hung his head and grumbled in embarrassment. "Of course I remember all that. I simply was not aware that there could be so many who could leave Death's domain like this." He waved a hand over the battlefield.

"Yes… I suppose your observations are correct in that regard. It appears our old friend Death is losing his grip on things." Headwind laughed as another shadow orb flew past them. Beneath them, they could hear the Bane roar in frustration.

"He is becoming quite the nuisance." Henry muttered.

"Yes…"

The two looked down and saw the enormous white rat continue to form balls of shadow in his claws and hurl them towards them.

"It appears Jack is still occupied with our surprise guest." Headwind sighed. "Honestly, I had expected more out of him."

"Well he _is _merely a student." Henry snickered. "I would not be surprised to see him fall into oblivion at this rate."

"Hush, Henry." Headwind shot Henry a warning look. "Focus on the objective at hand. It appears the Bane is intent on getting us. I trust you have this under control?"

Henry's back straightened and he grinned devilishly. "Of course. No target of mine shall breathe once I am commanded."

"Do you plan on using your talent?" Henry's eyes flashed.

"Only in emergencies." Henry assured.

"Keep in mind that if you have to use your hypnotism again, you will lose control of Ares." Headwind looked at him gravely. "Now, off you go." Headwind nodded.

Nodding back enthusiastically, Henry nudged Ares and the two took off towards the Bane, who was roaring in anticipation. Headwind watched with an amused expression on his face, as if he knew something Henry didn't.

Suddenly, Headwind's eyes suddenly flashed momentarily and his face contorted as if he was in intense pain. Then, as fast as it came, the light and expression disappeared without a trace. Headwind frowned and glanced down at Gregor and then to Henry.

"Ah… so that is how it is…" he murmured under his breath.

"Lord?" a soldier came up behind Headwind, interrupting his thoughts. "Our scouts are reporting that the gnawer army is coming from the left flank."

"What?" Lord Headwind turned to face the soldier. "Do we have any squads on that side?"

"Squalor's squad and Darwin's squad were assigned to defend the left flank, my Lord. But…" the soldier hesitated and nervously twiddled his thumbs.

"What is it? Spit it out!"

"My apologies. As I was saying, Squalor and his squad are nowhere to be found at the present moment, my Lord. Darwin's soldiers are holding out for now, but we will need reinforcements soon."

"… Impossible. Squalor's men did not desert in the midst of battle, did they?"

"That is not likely, my Lord. Squalor vowed to stay with the House of D. He knows the punishment for desertion is painful oblivion."

"Then where is he?!" Headwind roared. "A platoon of soldiers cannot simply disappear!"

"If I may, Lord," the soldier scratched the back of his head. "There have been… rumors that they were being led to aid Regalia in another conflict not far from here."

"Explain yourself."

"I thought nothing of it at the time since I thought they were Henry's orders, sir, but many soldiers who I have questioned recalled Squalor's group being led off by two of your students."

Headwind's eyes flashed with anger and he gnashed his teeth in frustration.

"Those troublesome hooligans…" he growled through his gritted teeth. "Where are they now?!"

The soldier was about to respond when several shouts of confusion were rippling through Headwind's small army. Headwind frowned and looked to his left past the soldier he was talking to and saw a large platoon of fliers heading towards them. It was Squalor's squad.

"Speak of the devil…" Headwind muttered under his breath. "Where have you been?!" he scowled at the approaching Squalor, who flinched at the sight of Headwind's furious face.

"Fighting the gnawers who were compromising the Regalian retreat, my Lord." Squalor cleared his throat. "Those… were Henry's orders, were they not?"

"No, they were _not_ Henry's nor my orders." Headwind was breathing deeply, as if trying to control his anger. "You were _deceived _by those miscreants over there!" he jerked his head towards Matt and Rachel.

Disbelief ran across Squalor's face and he suddenly realized the precarious situation he was in.

"I-I-I… I am deeply sorry, my Lord." Squalor's eyes darted from side to side. "I am ashamed that I have been tricked so easily."

"I will not hold you responsible for this incident, Squalor. Just get your men and defend the left flank from any incoming gnawers with Darwin's group! Now!" Headwind shouted.

"Yes, Lord. Many thanks." Squalor nodded tersely and led his group off, but not without shooting Matt and Rachel a glare, mouthing 'I'll talk to you later'.

"As for you two…" Headwind stopped Rachel and Matt as they tried to pass by him. "You two are to explain what exactly you were doing with Squalor's platoon."

"Well you see…" Matt started off and glanced to Rachel.

"We were informed that an army was waiting for the Regalian army to retreat, so we decided to help out…" Rachel quickly finished before trailing off.

"And you thought that it was best to do this… behind our backs?" Headwind looked back and forth between the two, clearly unsatisfied with this answer.

"Well you and Regalia aren't exactly on helping terms." Matt replied. "Besides, doesn't this mean the people of Regalia owe you one now? I don't see how any of this can be a bad thing."

With this idea, Headwind seemed to have calmed down quite a bit, but his face still bore traces of agitation. He sighed and shook his head.

"You may have a point. But." He pointed a finger at them. "This does not excuse the fact that you have done something and tried to hide it from me. You still must be punished."

"What?!" Matt exclaimed. "We just helped you and you're just gonna throw it ou-"

"Silence!" Headwind yelled. Matt flinched and stepped back. "We shall discuss this later. Go aid the front lines and drive this shadow army back."

Matt was about to yell back but he felt Rachel tug at his shoulder. He looked back at Rachel and saw her shake her head slowly. Reluctantly, Matt relaxed his shoulders and turned away from Headwind.

"Yes, sir." He muttered.

* * *

"Ares, take the Bane from behind." Henry grinned in anticipation. "This battle will be swift!"

Ares didn't answer, but he flew erratically around to the Bane's backside before diving downwards. As Ares approached the Bane, Henry took out his sword, a long, dark, elegant blade, and gripped it firmly between his hands, ready to swing it at the monster's head.

Just as he was going to strike, however, Ares's body twitched rapidly when he got close to Bane, flinging Henry off his back.

"Oof!" Henry grunted as he fell to the ground with a big _THUD_. He quickly got to his feet and whirled around to look for Ares. "Ares!" he snarled. "What in Regalia was that?!"

Ares landed awkwardly a couple hundred meters away from a fuming Henry and shook his head as if he were trying to get rid of a headache.

"Ares! Get over here! Now!" Henry yelled, his eyes now tinged with hypnosis.

Before he could see Ares's response, Henry was suddenly hit with a giant paw and he skidded across the ground.

"Tch." Henry groaned. "Curse you, Ares." He muttered as he stood up against the giant white rat towering above him. "I suggest you capitulate now, so I may bestow my grace onto you and not kill you." He smirked at the Bane.

The Bane went on all fours and lumbered towards Henry, eyes full of malice and hatred. "I do not think so, puny human." He snarled. "My eyes will be the last things you will ever see."

Henry grabbed his blade beside him and immediately charged at the beast. The white rat raised a paw and swung downwards. Henry smirked. Too easy. He slid to one side and waited for the sound of the paw hitting the ground. But he never heard it. Confused, Henry turned his head and was met with two pairs of claws to the face.

"Ugh!" he yelped as the claws raked across his face. He quickly stepped back and evaluated the wound. It wasn't bad, but at this rate, without Ares, he wouldn't be able to survive the fight. He could already see Headwind's disapproving scowl watching him from above, and the thought disgusted him. There was one thing he could do though…

Henry's eyes flashed dangerously and he slowly began to smile. According to what Headwind taught him, he could only control one entity at a time. Sure, he would lose Ares, but Ares was starting to resist his control severely anyway. And he would gain control of the strongest gnawer in the Underland! He wiped the blood off of his face and grinned.

"Is the puny human done crying?" The Bane jeered as it stalked towards Henry.

Henry turned to the white rat and stared deep into his eyes, freezing the Bane in his tracks. "No, but I think I shall make you cry. You are now to obey my orders."

The Bane froze and didn't move for a while, staring into Henry's eyes with disbelief running across his face.

"You are to aid me in destroying the army of gnawers you brought here." Henry declared with a commanding voice.

"Yes, m... master." The Bane walked towards Henry complacently.

"Good. Now you are to-" Henry never got to finish his sentence, for the Bane had converged all his power into his fist and rammed it into Henry, sending him spiraling sky-high.

Henry flew across the cliff and suddenly realized that he was high enough to be killed if he didn't catch a flier.

As he started to fall, Henry stared into nothing, shocked at what just happened. What happened to his hypnosis? Where did it go wrong? Wait, what about Ares? Did he still have control?

"Ares!" he called as his velocity started to increase rapidly. "Help me!"

The familiar dark shape loomed over Henry and he breathed a sigh of relief. Ares was still hypnotized. He watched as Ares sped downwards towards him and he turned his body so that he would land on Ares's back on his front side. But when Ares reached him, he didn't slow down. He sped right past Henry, flying towards something further down, much to Henry's horror. He recognized this feeling. This mixed feeling of shock and betrayal. It was just like that one time… that one time… he thought of every single curse he could think of and yelled them on the top of his lungs before he reached the bottom.

The rocks below welcomed him back.

* * *

"Agh…" Gregor's vision was growing darker and his body trembled as Solovet's cold expression stared at his face.

Solovet had somehow managed to slide her sword into the thin slit between the plate bodies of his armor. The blade that pierced his body was still inching deeper inside, savoring all the blood it was drinking.

"Hah…" she laughed. "With the Bane's victory, Regalia shall be mine to control once more. And I will make you all _pay_!" she spat the last word like it was dung.

"_Greg… you n… she's… they're coming… and…" _Leonardo's voice was breaking up as Solovet's blade sunk in another inch, causing Gregor to croak and gasp for air. What was Leonardo trying to say?

"Solovet…" he coughed and fell to his knees. "Don't do this…"

Solovet's eyes narrowed. "Why should I not?" she sneered. "I have no reason to stay my hand here, Overlander."

"It's not worth it…" Gregor mumbled. He feebly lifted his hands and grasped at the blade, using any strength he had to stop Solovet from pushing the blade in any further.

"That is not for you to decide." Solovet hissed. She scoffed as she saw Gregor's endeavor to stop her blade. "You have nothing to fight for here, Overlander. No one is here to fight for you either. Give up."

"No…" Gregor weakly moaned.

Gregor was starting to get dizzy. His vision started to blot out and his strength was drained to the point where he couldn't prop himself up anymore. Was this it? He didn't finish the mission. Looks like oblivion was waiting for him. The thought scared him more than anything. Not being remembered by anyone was a horrifying punishment… at least when you died there were some who remembered you. Gregor's eyes started to close. But just as eyelids met together, he heard Solovet shriek in anger and he felt Solovet's blade slide out of his chest and he gasped at the pain. Had someone come to save him?

Now free of Solovet's grasp, Gregor attempted to get away while he could, but suddenly, he felt a huge force strike him from behind. Everything was whirling. He tumbled several feet across the ground towards a cliff and then…

The ground was no longer beneath him. To his horror, he was spinning in the air, falling like a rock as his blood rained down on the ground below.

Guess this was it.

* * *

_Thump. _

He was sure he was dead. But that wasn't right. He still felt pain. Excruciating pain. And he could feel himself rising higher. That wasn't right, was it?

"Maybe I'm going up to heaven." He murmured.

"Not while I am still breathing." A familiar voice below him growled.

Gregor froze, not able to comprehend what he was hearing. What was going on?

"…it can't be."

"Have you a sense that this has happened before, Overlander?" the flier purred humorously. "Welcome back."

"…Ares." Gregor mumbled before his eyes finally shut down.


	14. Death's Dance

**Chapter 14**  
**Death's Reconcile**

* * *

"Gregor, time to wake up! You can't sleep in just 'cuz it's Saturday!" Gregor could hear Lizzie's voice penetrate through his blanket. He groaned and shifted to his other side before muttering something that sounded like "five more minutes".

His door swung open with an ear-splitting creak and Lizzie stood by the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Gregor! C'mon! Breakfast is on the table!" she urged as she approached the bed. Gregor put his hands over his ears and moaned. Maybe if he pretended to ignore her, she would go away. Lizzie stood there for a moment, evidently annoyed. Then, to his surprise, Lizzie let out an annoyed huff and scurried out the room. He smiled and savored the peaceful quiet that followed. Looks like his plan worked.

Suddenly, he heard a high-pitched shriek and a thundering of footsteps that grew louder and louder. Gregor cringed. He was too naïve. Lizzie was using her trump card, and he knew what was going to happen next.

"Gregor!" Boots' voice rang like an alarm clock. "Get up! Get up! Getupgetupgetupgetupgetup!" she squealed as she jumped on his bed and pounded his backside with a barrage of small fists.

Gregor sighed. Looks like she wasn't going to leave until he got up. He rose reluctantly from beneath his blankets like a monster and towered over Boots.

"I'm going to eat you!" he snarled playfully and lunged for the small girl.

Boots screamed in delight and dashed out the door faster than Gregor could get out of bed. He chased her all the way down to the kitchen table and finally managed to catch her.

"Gotcha!" he laughed.

"No! No fair!" she pouted. "You cheated!" she pointed crossed her pudgy arms and glared at Gregor.

"Aw, I'm sorry Boots." Gregor apologized. "How about I make up for it by giving you some apple juice?"

At that, Boots' eyes immediately lit up and she siscrambled to her chair at the table. "Ye-es!" she said cheerfully and gave the biggest smile a toddler could give.

"Sure took you a while to get up." Lizzie smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." Gregor waved his hand dismissively as he walked to the fridge. "Boots says I cheated, but you're the one who cheated by using her to wake me up."

"All's fair in love in war." She shrugged.

Gregor came back from the fridge with ice-cold apple juice and noticed Lizzie was texting someone.

"Who you texting?" he craned his neck to get a glimpse of the screen as he handed Boots her apple juice. "A boyfriend?"

"Pfft." Lizzie scoffed. "As if. Boys are a waste of time. They're gross, immature, and _not_ cost effective."

Gregor rolled his eyes. "Cost effective, huh?" he sat down and started to shoved his food into his mouth. "That sure is a weird way to look at things."

"It's true!" Lizzie put down her phone and gave an annoyed sigh. "All the guys at my school pick their noses and just wrestle with each other. Most of them don't have decent grades either."

"Well what about the ones that do have good grades and don't pick their noses?" Gregor laughed.

"Such people don't exist at my school." She sniffed. "Anyway, Dad was texting me. He said that the university has a faculty meeting today so he's not going to be home till later."

"Oh." Gregor twirled his fork around his plate and stared into it. Looks like Dad can't hang out with them. Again. "Well that's fine, I guess." He frowned slightly before looking back at Lizzie. "So what're you planning on doing today?"

"I was going to take Boots to the library and snag a couple of puzzle books." She said. "You wanna come?"

"Uh… nah." Gregor shook his head. "I guess I'll just meet up with Matt and Rachel or something."

"Matt and Rachel?" Lizzie stared at Gregor. "Who're they?"

"You know, my friends from school." Gregor smirked. "Don't tell me you forgot them already. You've met them already."

Lizzie's nose scrunched up and she stared hard at Gregor. "I've never heard those names in my life." She frowned. "Are you messing with me?"

Gregor's smile faded. "What? Of course not. Why would I be?"

"Hmm." She started to chew her lower lip. "Well I guess I don't remember." She said finally. "Anyway, we're off!" she picked up her bag and called out to Boots. "Let's go, Boots!"

Boots sprang out the door enthusiastically as Lizzie followed behind. Before she closed the door, she called out to Gregor. "Oh, yeah! By the way, Death's coming over, so clean up the place!"

Before Gregor could respond, the door slammed shut with an eerie echo. The kitchen seemed to be shrouded in a strange atmosphere and Gregor was frozen in the middle of it, not understanding what was going on. Why didn't Lizzie remember who Rachel and Matt were? And wait – she said _who_ was coming? Gregor shook his head. No, weren't his friends down in…

"So this is your typical day." A voice emanated from somewhere behind Gregor.

Gregor whirled around and took a fighting stance, bracing himself for an attack, but all he found was Death sitting at the table drinking Boots' apple juice.

"Silly girl didn't even finish her apple juice." He sighed. "Such good quality too. Freshly squeezed. Did your mother make this?"

Gregor dropped his fists to his side and gaped at Death. "I thought you were…"

"Dead?" Death laughed. "Death can't die, didn't you know that?"

"But the last time we saw you, you could barely keep your back straight!" he gaped.

"Ah, yes. Well, technically, this isn't me. My actual self is still barely managing to hold it together back in the Dead realm." Death sighed. "I'm more like a small copy implanted inside of you."

"Wait what?!" Gregor squeaked. "I…inside of me? What are you doing inside of me?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you, Warrior. Yeesh." The Death-copy groaned comically. "So touchy. I was put inside of you in case some unexpected events happen."

"…unexpected events?" Gregor repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Well for one, you were nearly killed by that woman, which is a big surprise. Second, your cover is about to be blown _because _that woman almost killed you. The Underlanders are going to recognize you for sure when they take a close look at your face with your helmet off in the infirmary. And third, you're no closer to finding my scythe than you were when I first sent you here."

Gregor stared at Death for a while and suddenly turned his head side to side. "Wait." He stepped back. "What am I doing here? Why am I in the Overland then?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The copy sighed. "You're still unconscious. Right now, you're being shipped off to Regalia for treatment by Ares. Heaven knows why he went there instead of the House of D."

"So this is all… just a dream?" Gregor frowned.

"Not necessarily." Death wagged a finger in Gregor's direction. "It's more like a highly accurate virtual simulation of the Overland that retains the exact parameters as those of the actual Overland all being generated by your brain's recognition, sensory, and memory banks."

"So… it's a dream." Gregor reiterated.

Death rolled his eyes. "Fine. It's a dream. Way to be a party pooper, Warrior."

"So are you going to wake me up?" Gregor waved his hands.

"What, you think I'm the God of conscious or something?" Death scoffed. "You'll wake up when your body is ready. Besides, we still need to discuss your plan of action."

"Plan of action?"

"Yes." Death grunted. "Specifically, how you plan to get my scythe back. Did you even find out how has it?"

"Well…" Gregor twiddled his thumbs. "Matt, Rachel and I think it's Headwind."

Death frowned. "Who?"

"Scad Headwind. The leader of the House of D. Don't you know who this is? Leonardo told me you would have an idea."

"Leonardo, Sam, and Arja all expect me to know everything." Death sighed. "I have never heard of such a name. And I would remember an unusual name like that if he was the one to escape from me with my scythe."

"Wait, so is Headwind not the one who led the House of D out of your prisons?"

"No. The mortal to overpower me was apparently a great hero with a distinguished name… but I do not remember his name."

Gregor face-palmed. "Well that's just great. So I guess we're after the wrong guy. And by the way, the House of D. thinks you're attacking them since all of the prisoners are assaulting Regalia and the House of D."

Death shrugged.

"I cannot do anything about it. Not until you get me the scythe. Once you give me the scythe, all the dead shall return to their prisons, awaiting judgment by the Halls of Justice and Retribution." Death groaned. "Imagine all the paperwork I must attend to after this." He muttered.

"Anyway…" Gregor rolled his eyes. "We're sure Headwind has _something _with the scythe. He has dark powers far stronger than everyone else. So if anyone knows anything, it's gotta be him. And since we became his students, it'll be easy to find out about him eventually."

"I suppose that is all we can do for the moment." Death sighed. "But you better hurry. Time is not on your side, Warrior. You have the Bane, Gorger, and Solovet to deal with now. The three of them together are deadly. I suggest you move fast. Also, there's nothing that can be done about your identity being revealed. Just pray that the culprit doesn't realize that you were sent here by me. Or else things will be quite…difficult."

"Got it." Gregor nodded firmly.

"Good." Death nodded back.

They both turned away from each other and stood there awkwardly.

"Uhhh… isn't this sort of where I wake up or something?" Gregor scratched the back of his head.

Death looked at his wrist. "I think it is nearly that time… yes. Well until then, you are in a state of lucid dreaming. You can do whatever you wish. Manipulate your dream to your will."

"I can do that?" Gregor's eyes widened.

"Yes. There is nothing else to do, anyway. I have said all I needed to say, so I shall take my leave now. Farewell." Death bowed and disappeared in a shroud of black smoke, leaving Gregor alone again.

Gregor rubbed his hands together and grinned in excitement. Lucid dreaming. What should he do first? Fly? Become super-fast? Be like spider-man? There were so many great ideas! He took a deep breath and was about to conjure a huge skyscraper to jump from when his whole world….

Then everything went dark.

* * *

His body could barely move. He was hurting all over. Something bright was flashing in his eyes. What was going on?

Gregor slowly forced his eyes open and saw a white ceiling looming over him. He glanced downwards and saw his whole upper torso was covered in bandages.

"You are awake." He heard a familiar voice gasp from next to him.

With great effort, Gregor turned his head towards the voice and saw Howard walking over to him with all sorts of medical tools.

"You are such a fool." Howard muttered as he knelt by Gregor's bed and set down his tools on a nearby table.

"What are you talking about?" Gregor found difficulty forming words in his mouth.

Howard smiled. "You lied to me about who you were when you met Hazard back then. I recognized you."

Gregor couldn't help but smile back. "I… was always bad at lying anyway."

"Granted, I did not question it. But, I did wonder why you were back, Warrior." Howard frowned slightly. "I was sure you were not coming back."

"So did I." Gregor grimaced. "It's a long story…" he started to tell Howard about what happened, but Howard stopped him.

"Save your energy. Your body is in critical state from the wound." He looked solemnly at Gregor's bandages. "You were lucky Ares was flying his heart out for you. If he had been only a bit slower… things would not have gone well as it did."

"Oh yeah… how is he?" Gregor looked up at Howard, worried.

"I have not seen Ares for a long time. But he looks the same as he did when you were here last time. Even so, it is…quite difficult to diagnose the dead."

"Really…" Gregor closed his eyes. "It's great that he's doing well now."

"You will probably have many visitors, Gregor." Howard looked out the door. "So far, only the people close to you have been notified of your existence."

Gregor let a sigh of relief. Looks like Death could rest easy knowing that the "Warrior's Return" wasn't being broadcasted all over the Underland. "It's fine. I'm up now, and I'm not too tired." He grinned.

"Very well. I shall let visitors in after she leaves." Howard smiled and walked towards the door.

"Wait…what?" Gregor stared as Howard's silhouette move out the door and he watched the door close behind it. "Who's 'she'?" he called after him.

Gregor frowned and lay back in his bed. And then he realized that he wasn't alone. He looked down to his right and gave a little start. He probably couldn't feel her there because of the numbing medication he was on, but Luxa was sleeping right next to him, cuddled up against him like a small child. She was breathing slowly and her face was covered with small bandages. Gregor froze for a moment, taking in the sight, and eventually began to smile. How long was she there for? Hours? Days?

"You were waiting on me, huh?" he whispered as he pushed back a strand of hair that was clinging to her face.

As soon as his hand pushed back the strand, Luxa moaned softly and her violet eyes fluttered open. Gregor couldn't help but just stare into the deep pools of purple swirling in her eyes. She stared back. They stayed like that for a moment before Luxa realized what she was doing.

"Ah…" she mumbled and backed away a little. "I…" she glanced around. "I was worried about you since you were injured and…"

"Mmhmm?" Gregor asked smiling teasingly.

Luxa's face grew even redder. "I was just worried."

"You already said that… but I appreciate it, your Highness." Gregor continued to smile.

At that, Luxa gave a frown and gave a sound of annoyance.

"I… request you not call me that." Luxa looked away and gave a wrinkled her nose.

"Why not?" Gregor cocked his head to one side and stared.

"I do not want you to think of me as your queen."

"Then what do you want me to think you as?"

"As… something else." Luxa bit her lower lip.

Gregor laughed and pulled Luxa closer to him, causing Luxa to squeak in surprise.

"What are you..?" Luxa resisted for a moment.

"Hey Luxa… I never got a chance to say this. But I really missed you." Gregor whispered in her ear. "And I love you."

Luxa's eyes widened and her body froze. After a moment, she sighed and rested her head on Gregor's shoulder.

"I suppose… I do so also." she managed to mumble back.

Luxa looked up and saw Gregor's flushed face smiling back at her. After a moment's deliberation, Gregor moved his face down and pressed his lips against hers. He could feel the warm, tingly feeling that he felt the last time he kissed her. After a long, blissful while, Luxa had to break away from the lack of air she was getting.

"Your lips are quite dry." Luxa murmured.

"Oh… are they?" Gregor's face blushed as he brushed his fingers against his lips. "Well I mean… I didn't really prepare for this… you know?"

"Oh…ah no! My apologies." Luxa stammered. "I did not mean it was not enjoyable… I was merely just trying to…"

She was interrupted with Gregor's lips crashing into hers once more.

Luxa closed her eyes and gave up on talking as she eagerly returned the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his head as she smiled into the kiss.

"…_Looks like Howard is going to have to wait a while to let the other visitors in." _Leonardo's voice resonated in his head.

"_Shut up." _Gregor laughed internally.

* * *

"Geez. Can't believe we can't go see the guy." Matt groaned. "We save the day and we get punished by not getting to leave our house."

Matt and Rachel were back in their assigned housing and were lying on the couch.

"Well we _did _disobey orders." Rachel twiddled with her thumbs. "It's not surprising that they wouldn't let us go anywhere if we didn't follow orders on their turf."

"But we totally helped with the front lines afterward!" Matt fumed. "We drove those rats back along with their two leaders."

"Apparently Headwind doesn't see that as an excuse."

"Well he could at least let us go see Gregor."

"_Well according to Leo's reports, even if you guys did go, visitors are not allowed to see him at the moment. He's sort of…busy." _Sam laughed.

"_Oh, young love. How sweet." _Arja giggled.

The two bracelets laughed as Matt and Rachel stared in evident bewilderment. Matt opened his mouth to demand what they were talking about when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

Matt and Rachel looked at each other and eyed the door suspiciously.

"Who is it?" Matt called casually as he approached the door.

"It is me. Headwind." A muffled voice came from the other side.

Matt opened the door and Headwind stepped inside immediately, pushing the door closed as he entered. He looked out the windows, as if he were afraid someone was watching them.

"Anything wrong, Lord Headwind?" Rachel asked.

"Yes…" Headwind mused. "I have just been informed that Henry is on the verge of oblivion."

"What?" Matt and Rachel asked together.

"He has not returned to the House of D. on Ares. It appears Ares has managed to escape from Henry's hypnotism and took Jack to Regalia."

"What happened?" Matt asked. "It looked like his hypnotism was pretty powerful."

"He did a foolish thing." Headwind sighed. "He tried to take control of the Bane of one of Death's leaders."

"So what?" Rachel inquired.

"While it is true that the Bane is not strong mentally by any means… he is much more resilient to the powers of the dead than Ares was." Headwind shook his head. "But given the little training he endured after he managed to achieve the lowest levels of hypnotism, it comes as no surprise that he failed to do something like this."

"So why are you here?" Matt asked cautiously.

Headwind turned to them and crossed his arms. He gazed at the two for a long while before speaking.

"I wish for you two to be the search party to look for Henry."


	15. Life's Second Chance

**Chapter 15  
Life's Second Chance**

* * *

"Welcome back Overlander!"

"Sure took you long enough…"

"You are finally around!"

"We missed you!"

Gregor's head spun with greetings from all the people and creatures rushing into his room. Somewhat dazed, he gripped the closest thing to him - Luxa's hand - tightly as he tried to concentrate. He did a general head count. Howard. Luxa. Vikus. Ares. Dulcet. Mareth. Aurora. Hazard. Dozens others he wasn't sure he even knew. He then decided it was better to just lie back and murmur general acknowledgements to everyone.

"Alright, calm down everyone!" Howard clapped his hands loudly after everyone had yelled out their greetings. "Let us settle down so that Gregor can be at ease. I am sure you all have many things to ask him, but let us be civilized."

Hushes and muttered apologies resonated throughout the room. Gregor couldn't help but laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"Howard, I thought you said only a _small_ group of people knew of me being here?" Gregor muttered under his breath to the grinning doctor.

"Overlander, this _is_ a small group compared to the amount of people that would have arrived had you announced your existence to the general public." Howard snickered.

"No way…" Gregor laughed. "Looks like things sure have changed while I was gone…?" Gregor smiled.

"Oh yes." Vikus piped up. "Regalia's territory has expanded quite a bit since you have gone. Our communities are now more varied with nibblers and gnawers alike. I would go far as to say Regalia has never been more peaceful."

"Yeah I noticed when I first came here. Everything looked so different!" Gregor exclaimed. "I would have stayed longer if I wasn't chased out after the whole wedding crashing thing." He laughed.

"All of us here believe it is most likely a blessing that you did." Vikus gave a small smile. "Although it does hamper our negotiation process with the House of D…. her majesty insisted on making you her spouse the moment she saw you again. I believe her servants were practically begging me to allow her wishes to be so."

Roars of laugher filled the room. Luxa's face flushed pink and she glowered at Vikus, who only chuckled in response until the laughter eventually died down.

"Anyway, we did not just come here to simply greet the old Warrior back into the fight and badger his relationships." Mareth waved his hands for attention. "Unfortunately, there are still matters to discuss on Death's army. They are out there, rampaging on our lands."

"Yes… concerning such matters, an alliance with the House of D does appear to be in order." Vikus said. "Seeing that they did save us from the last battle… However, it cannot be through marriage with Henry gone and Luxa… interested in other candidates."

Small chuckles erupted from the group once more. Mareth rolled his eyes, but Gregor could see a smile played on his lips.

"Well what can we do then?" Howard paced the room, one of the few taking Mareth's statement seriously.

"Wait." Everyone turned towards Gregor.

"Yes, what is it, Warrior?" Howard gave Gregor a sideways glance.

"I'm technically a part of the House of D still, right? I can act as a mediator for both of you guys. Wouldn't that help ease tensions?"

"It would be ideal." Vikus frowned. "However, you are not yet of high enough position within the House of D, so your alliance to both sides is not significant just yet." Vikus sighed.

"_He is right." _Leonardo's voice faintly piped from the back of Gregor's head.

"Leo!" Gregor exclaimed. "You're still there!"

"_Yes, of course I am." _Leo seemed to scoff. "_I am responsible for you, after all." _

"Uhm…Gregor?" Hazard turned his head sideways, staring at Gregor weirdly. "Who are you talking to?"

Gregor looked up and could see the same question written on everyone else's faces. Oops. Well. This was awkward.

"It's fine, Gregor. It doesn't matter at this point." Leonardo sighed aloud. "Your head isn't the comfiest of places to be kept quiet in anyway."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Gregor growled instinctively. "I can't control how comfy my head is!"

Gasps and murmurs of shock encircled the room as everyone stared at the metal bracelet wrapped around Gregor's arm.

"Greetings everyone." Leonardo spoke aloud once more, clearly ignoring Gregor. "I suppose you can call me Gregor's common sense. I am the voice that resounds in his head in times of dire need."

"Incredible…" Mareth bore his eyes into Leonardo. "To be able to have tools that communicate with the user…" he shook his head in disbelief.

Other murmurs of excitement ran through the group and Gregor could feel another wave of questions coming on. He groaned.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Why are we even looking for this jerk anyhow?" Matt scoffed. "He hasn't helped us much and he's actually a threat to our mission. Moreover, he's a pain in the a-"

"Shush!" Rachel threw him a look. "He's a big part of the House of D. It'll stir up a mess if we don't find him. Besides, Headwind himself asked us to find him. If we do, we might be closer to Headwind and closer to finding where the scythe is."

"I guess…" Matt grumbled as he continued to look around alongside Rachel.

The two had volunteered to fly down to the cliff where Henry had supposedly fallen off during battle, but so far, their search had failed to produce anything. There were traces of blood, but not enough that indicated an impact from a high cliff. It was almost as if Henry's descent didn't happen at all.

"Maybe another bat got him before he reached the bottom?" Rachel pondered aloud.

"Doesn't seem likely… one of the bats would have come forth with him back in the House of D, wouldn't they?"

"True…" Rachel sighed. "I don't even know anymore. There's no leads."

"Not to mention Squalor isn't helping much on his side of the cliff." Matt rolled his eyes.

"I heard that!" Squalor's voice echoed from the far side of the cliff.

"Whatever!" Matt called back.

"You know, you could try to get in a good relationship with him. You don't know how long we're gonna be down here." Rachel pointed out.

"Well he's not gonna open up anytime soon." Matt grumbled. "Besides, he already hates us for deceiving him."

"Still, you could try to lessen his hatred by being nice to him. It's the little things that count."

"Right…" Matt lifted up a small rock and tossed it in the air.

He couldn't help but sneak a glance at Rachel, who was lost in thought as she tried to deduce what had happened to Henry.

"_Having fun?" _Sam whispered.

"_Shut up." _Matt snorted. "_Fun is the last thing I'm having right now."_

"_You know, this is a good time to talk to her about things. You guys are alone out here, nothing to do… it's perfect y'know?" _Sam chuckled. "_But in all seriousness. You should talk to her."_

"_Why?" _Matt frowned. "_There's nothing up with us." _

"_And that's precisely the problem, isn't it?" _Sam sighed. "_You gotta make something happen, man. You can't just sit around waiting for her to throw herself at you. It ain't gonna happen." _

"_Ugh…" _Matt groaned inwardly. "_This is pathetic. I'm getting relationship advice from a freakin' bracelet."_

"_Oh please. You'd be as lost as a baby in these waters without me. Show some backbone. Talk to her."_

"_Fine. I'll try."_

"'_Atta boy."_

Matt cleared his throat and took a step towards Rachel to talk to her. This was it. He took a deep breath, took another step, and opened his mouth. Suddenly, Rachel yelped and threw herself at Matt.

For a moment, Matt blinked in surprise and almost couldn't believe it. Was Sam actually spot-on with his relationship advice? Could showing some "backbone" have such an effect this quickly? But then, Matt saw out of the corner of his eye something crawling towards them. Looks like not.

"Sam!" he called out as he twisted the bracelet on his arm.

White armor plates slid out from the bracelet and covered Matt entirely and he whirled to face the crawling figure. The moment his katanas formed, Matt grabbed them from his back and swung them towards the threat…

"Wait!" Rachel yelled, who had also gone into her armor mode. She jumped between Matt and the figure and crossed her arms to catch the blow of the two katanas, which were already swinging downwards in a deadly arc.

Matt yelped in surprise as he tried to divert the swords' paths to the side, which resulted in him falling sideways with a great thump.

"What are you doing?" he growled as he hobbled onto his feet. "You're the one who screamed and scared the crap out of me!"

"Look!" Rachel pointed at the figure. "Do you recognize him?"

Matt took a quick look at the crawling figure and scrunched his eyes. Now that he was looking at it a bit more closely, he realized that thing wasn't crawling in a menacing way. The way it stretched out its arm was not to attack them, but to seek help. It was injured. It looked a lot like a person, but it was horribly disfigured. The arms and legs were completely covered in black smoke and bits of shadows were coming off the body. Matt could barely see that the thing was human. He took a step closer. In fact, it looked like a little bit like…

"…Henry?"

On the ground, Henry gave a snarl of confirmation and lowered his hand by his side.

"What the hell happened to you, man?" Matt kneeled down next to him. "These injuries don't look like you just fell off some cliff."

"Arja says a majority of his limb injuries are due to the impact on the ground, but his body has been abused long after the fall… what happened?" Rachel urged.

"Squalor! We found Henry! Get over here!" Matt yelled.

"Cliff…was….not the problem. Listen." Henry managed to pant. He beckoned Matt and Rachel to come closer to him. "Do not… trust…"

He paused to take a bigger breath, but Matt grabbed him by the collars of the suit.

"Don't trust who? What are you talking about?"

Henry's eyes flickered from side to side frantically and his breath quickened before he eventually grabbed Matt's arm firmly and glared into his eyes with not hatred, but with more of a feeling of desperation.

"Do not trust him. Do not. I beg of you..." his voice trailed off as his eyes caught sight of something behind Matt and Rachel. "He has come for me." Henry quailed. "I am done for."

Matt and Rachel whirled around and were met with a subsequent blast to the face, throwing them several tens of meters away from Henry.

"Ugh!" Matt groaned as he landed on the ground. "What the hell?"

"_Duck!" _Sam yelled.

Matt dropped to the ground just as a bolt grazed the top of his helmet. He grimaced. What was going on? Was this the same person who mangled Henry after he fell? Matt tried to pull himself off the ground, but then another bolt exploded to his right, hurling him another few feet through the air.

"Ugh!" he coughed.

What the heck was going on? Matt scrambled to his feet and summoned his katanas. As the debris settled, Matt started to get a better view of the perpetrator.

It was a strikingly familiar black-armored soldier, and as Matt stared at it longer, the more his skin crawled. He couldn't place this familiar feeling he was having at first. Then he saw it. He tried rubbing his visor quickly to see if he was mistaken, but there was no doubt about it. Scythes on the back of the armor.

"Isn't that Gregor's old armor?" Matt could hear Rachel breathe in disbelief.

"Yeah…" Matt's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What the heck is it doing? I thought Death got rid of it when he upgraded Gregor's armor."

"_It seems it has somehow formed a conscious of its own and has become self-sustaining." _Arja sounded just as surprised as they were. "_But this cannot be done unless someone else has given it consciousness… reanimating the dead is one thing, but reanimating empty armor…"_

"Could it be… Death?" Matt grimaced and took a defensive stance as the figure started its approach. "He probably has the power to do this, right?"

"_Perhaps, but why would he send someone to fight you two? He sent you two here in the first place." _Arja sounded slightly offended.

"Maybe we should just talk with it?" Rachel suggested.

"I dunno, it doesn't look like it's in much of a talking mood." Matt jerked his shoulder in the armor's direction.

The armor was gaining speed now, sprinting towards them with full speed, dark orbs in its gauntlets.

"Crap." Matt muttered. "Alright, you wanna play?"

Without hesitation, he pushed off of his left foot and made his own sprint towards the armored figure.

"Matt, wait!" he heard Rachel cry out.

But it was too late to stop. Matt sliced horizontally at the armor's chest before it could throw its fully-formed dark orbs. The katanas sliced through the armor with surprising amount of ease and jumped to the side to evaluate the damage.

For a moment, the figure didn't move and simply stood still, completely frozen. Its hands slowly dropped to its sides.

"_Uhm… okay?" _Sam sounded confused. "_Is this guy slow or what?" _

Suddenly, the figure seemed to snap back to attention and started moving again. Matt braced himself for an assault from the figure, but the figure never went for him. Instead, it started to sprint towards Rachel.

"Rachel!" Matt yelled in alarm. This was bad. Matt couldn't reach her in time. Not with the speed the armor was sprinting at. Rachel was a long range fighter. If he reached her before she could get any shots off, she was done for.

Rachel jumped to the side, pulled out her bow, and started firing six bolts of darkness at a time towards the armored figure. Each bolt struck the armor square in the chest, but the armored figure didn't seem to feel any of the shots and continued to sprint towards her.

"Arja, do I have any close combat weapons?" Rachel yelled as the figure was a hundred meters away.

"_You are asking this now?"_ Arja exclaimed. "_I cannot form a new weapon so soon! Dodge, Rachel!" _

Rachel quickly realized that she couldn't move in time and braced her arms against her face, waiting for an attack from the armored figure as he approached. However, Gregor's armor sprinted past Rachel and grabbed the scythes on its back with dangerous certainty. Rachel looked up and realized that she and Matt weren't just lucky. They simply weren't the targets. Rachel and Matt could only watch as Gregor's armor jumped high into the air, towards Henry's body with both scythes swinging downwards.

With a loud _thump, _the two blades pierced through Henry's armor like it was mere paper. Henry's body twitched at the impact and he howled in pain, his eyes frantically looking around as his limbs flailed against the scythes driven into his torso. Rachel locked eyes with him and could swear that she saw the most delicate of human emotion swirling in Henry's eyes as his life ebbed away. Regret. Sorrow. Fear. Desperation. Then, like a candle's light being blown out, Henry's eyes faded into a dull black color and his limbs eventually lay still by his side. All too suddenly, the scythes in the armor's hands began to emit a black smoke that seemed to envelop Henry in it.

By now, Matt had managed to catch up to Rachel and took a defensive stance next to her as he pointed a katana in the armored figure's direction.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded in a shaky voice. "Whatever you're doing with that armor, knock it off. It's not yours."

The armored figure looked towards Matt and Rachel and pulled the scythes out of Henry's body. Henry's body then dissipated into black smoke and was wafted towards the scythes, disappearing completely as it made contact with the blades.

"The armors you undead bear also do not belong to you." A voice resonated from behind Gregor's mask. It sounded like there was a cave full of echoes in Gregor's mask as it spoke. "The lives you hold now do not belong to you. Do not lecture me on property, undead mortal."

"Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Sam piped up from Matt's bracelet. "Please say the hard way. I'm itching to get some action up here."

"Sam!" Arja urged.

"I do not quarrel with those whom I have no business with." The voice continued. "None of you have been placed on my list."

The armored figure turned its back on them and put out a hand. A dark portal bubbled from the ground to answer the figure's call.

Suddenly, a katana blasted the side of the armored figure and it fell sideways, landing awkwardly. Matt towered over the figure and looked down with disdain.

"You might not have had business with me before, but you just killed a guy I was searching for, like, forever, so you pretty much pissed me off." Matt growled as he gripped his katanas tighter. "So don't tell me you don't have any business with me."

The figure rose to its feet and a red light seemed to flash from behind the mask.

"It seems my orders have been recalculated. I now have new targets received for transport." The figure's voice leaked from the mask.

"Transport?" Rachel asked cautiously as she took a step back and prepared her bow for combat. "What are you doing? Who are you?"

The red light seemed to glow stronger as the figure stood up completely and formed dark orbs in its hands. The figure seemed to laugh at the two.

"I am who many call True Death. My orders are to put you to eternal sleep. Die."


End file.
